The Guardian
by Liam Holman
Summary: Born from tragedy, a human who survives a plane crash learns that his destiny is far greater than he ever imagined. Follow the epic tale of Alex Maximilian as he becomes a legend among lions.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first Lion King fanfiction that includes a human that isn't trying to sell cubs on the black market. Anyway, I have read some brilliant stories of a similar classification, and if I can, I will make it as original as possible. Some stories begin with a car/plane crash or take place in a far-set year. However, I will put my own ingredients into this recipe for what nearly always ends up being a terrific story. Enough of my words, let us get on with the story, which starts in the point of view of the main character.**

 **Update: I keep getting ideas to make the story better. Sorry if these updates annoy you, but you're welcome if they please you in the end.**

My story starts in the warm comforts of a black cab that pulled up at London Heathrow Airport on a cold night that belonged to the season of death. The bare, leafless trees hint at our ultimate fate as I pull the handle that enables me to leave the taxi. I gave the taxi driver, a portly gentleman with short, grey hair, 40 pounds in notes and told him to keep the change.

I am at one of the busiest airports in the world to catch a flight to Johannesburg to meet some South African relatives. The relatives come from my half-Dutch mother.  
I share the blood of the British, American, German, Dutch and French people to be exact, though mostly British, and those who conquered the British Isles.

Anyway, as I lug my black suitcase to the Departures desk, the young female till attendant who had blonde hair and blue eyes asked for my destination, to which I replied Johannesburg.

"That's 1,183 pounds, please," she kindly requested, and I pulled out my black leather wallet that held the card that was held over the PIN machine until a subtle beep was heard.

"Thank you, and enjoy your flight," she said, and I responded with a smile and a nod, before gratefully taking the ticket from her hands.

After successfully passing the security checks, I strolled down the temporary corridor that connected the plane to the terminal, and after a long wait due to unfavourable weather conditions, the BA11216 flight was cleared for take-off, and I decided to rest my eyes.

My sleep was peaceful enough, save for the strange vision in which I saw the face of a lion. I struggled to interpret the vision, and the task was made no easier by the fact that a whispering voice within my head said: "Your coming to us is as the coming of our victory and suffering."

I paid no heed to it as I tried to force my eyes open as the waitress was collecting orders. Slightly craving for food, I picked up the leaflet that displayed an exaggerated quality of food, but before I could choose what I would eat, I saw an impossible sight. A lion of the rare colouration of jet black casually approached the window nearest to me. It showed no reaction to the speed of the plane. It simply walked towards me and spoke of my family, and how both human and lion-kind would fall.

I almost launch from my seat as my attention shifted to the seats, shivering like I would after emerging from an icy body of water. My body shook more violently than I would have liked and the signal for an announcement was played. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We are about to experience some major turbulence, please remain calm and strap yourselves in," the reassuring male voice said. I did as I was instructed, so did everyone else.

About a minute after the announcement, the carpet of white cloud seemed to rise. The sky was growing into a colour of a Pacific blue, with the sun cresting the white floor of the blue room. A seriously concerning event then happened. The engine grew an endless tail of black smoke, and as the smoke thickened, a great flash and bang deprived me of hearing and seeing the panic that now ensued.

When sight returned, the first thing I saw was a young child in tears of fear and confusion being comforted by his mother. When white noise was replaced with the equally torturing and volumous screaming of terrified passengers. I remained surprisingly calm, wishing that this was but a dream of all of my fears of planes coming true.

The signal for an announcement sounded again. "Ladies and gentlemen, we have lost two of our primary engines and are about to undergo emergency procedures. We will make an emergency landing..." the captain said but was cut off like the power. The frantic humming sound of the engine stopped, and the light left the LED bulbs,  
leaving the natural light to flood into the plane through the windows.

My racing heart beat and shocked breathing replaced the sound of utter panic. I looked again at the child, whose tears were now shared with the mother. So this is where it all ends. I felt so sorry for the child. He probably had no concept of what was about to happen to him, and perhaps the only thing that actually scared him was everyone screaming in sheer panic. The light was blocked by the clouds as our altitude dived like Tom Daley.

The oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling, but I refused to use them. I did not wish to die knowing fear, but I would. So I would show nothing of my emotions, not that anyone would notice, for the only ones who knew this was happening were going to die, and in the morning, my parents would wake up to the news of a tragic plane crash in Africa, knowing that I was on that very plane. In a flash of light, the power returned, but I saw the ground come closer by the second until I felt a distortion in my stomach as the pilots halted the descent at the last second, but the last second was one hundred and fifty-four too late for any chance of survival. I closed my eyes as I braced for the deadly impact.

A strange groaning noise woke a lion cub with golden fur and orange eyes with red irises. The sky was slowly filled with the light of the sun, and this allowed the cub to see a strange looking object that had a long, slim body and broad wings, almost like a crane. It seemed to grow an endless black tail. It moved closer to the ground at a tremendous speed, and it looked as if the scene would end in a ball of fire, but the great object swerved away from the ground, but it disappeared beneath the ground, and a loud noise and great rumble of the floor woke up the other lions that slept in a tall rock formation.

"Stars above, what was that noise?" a lioness, the cub's mother asked with fright grasping her voice.

"Was that an earthquake?" a female cub with fur the colour of cream, and eyes the colour of the ocean asked.

The lions, including a remarkable one with a thick, red mane and a frame of strength and stride of authority rushed to where the cub was.

"Simba? Did you see what happened?" the large lion asked.

"Yeah, it was like a big..giant..bird-like thing and it fell from the sky," Simba attempted to describe the object. He was still shocked by the experience. Smoke seemed to pour from what the object was. The smoke rose as if there were a volcano in place of the crash site.

"Should we go and investigate?" Simba asked, being the curious cub he was renowned for.

Mufasa sighed. "When the sun rises fully, we'll go to where the...thing is," Mufasa promised.

 **A/N: I dedicate this story to the memory of those who died in the tragic plane crash in Colombia. FORCA CHAPECOENSE!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: As with all of my stories, this will improve over time. I always find small mistakes and come up with new ways of conveying scenes and situations.**  
 **Anyway, if you are enjoying this story, then please favourite, follow or review it (or all three). You can review the story as a whole, or on a chapter-by-chapter basis, as long as they are constructive (i.e. I like x but you can improve y by doing z)**

 **Update: I made some changes to enhance realism.**

I thought I was dead, but then I felt a fiery pain in my leg. I screamed in pain after trying to bottle it, but the pain exploded like the cork of a bottle being popped from a champagne bottle. My eyes shot wide open when I realised I could do so, and I gasped at the scene: Bloody limbs chucked around the fuselage and the surrounding area, a plume of black smoke that was fed by the fire within the engine, my leg hanging in the air with the area beyond the pain slanted towards the smashed window. I had several areas of stinging where the wind blew against my face. I felt my face with my fingers, and when I retracted them from the area of pain, I saw a smudge of blood. I looked upwards, as it seemed since I was lying on my back, and I saw light flooding in from a great gap in the fuselage.

I decided to move outside, and so I pushed against the floor with enough force that I lifted myself a short height in the air. I then dragged myself without causing a great deal of pain and rolled over and bent my good knee to stand. I hobbled to the rear of the plane and found that the door of the cargo hold had been ripped off, and to the excitement of my inner child, I found, scattered all over the place, a selection of professionally cast weapons, such as a meter-long sword, a 12-inch hunting knife and a 10-inch dagger, along with two massive, double-bladed axes and four smaller axes. I chuckled delightedly as I found a suitable backpack and my own suitcase after rummaging through the possessions of the dead, which stained my conscience.

 _Why are there weapons on a plane, and where would they be going?_ I then remember that I had previously expressed my desire to watch a film by some rookie director, it showed a lot of promise, but it seems that I will never get to watch it. The film was of a fantasy genre, and there were many swords and other medieval weapons in the poster. I deduce that South Africa was perhaps a filming location for the film.

After I had safely packed the weapons, and finding also a bow and a wealth of arrows, I realised where I was: A canyon that had two towering walls that were coloured with different shades of orange and red. I limped towards a gap in the wall, and its floor sloped upwards. I concluded that this was once a tributary to the former river that must have flowed through the canyon.

The cave soon became claustrophobic, like a natural prison closing in on me until I saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and when my sight fell upon the landscape,  
my breath was stolen. An emerald green floor of tall and thick grass speckled with morning dew that glistened in the morning sun that shone on a massive rock formation that towered above all of the acacia trees.

I placed my luggage on a rock that sat next to an acacia tree that provided cover from the sun that quickly warmed the air. It was only now that I felt an unforgiving hunger eat away at my strength, and so I unzipped the bag, and as I glared at both the stunning landscape and the bag, I chuckled in despair. This is ridiculous.  
I should be at the hotel at Johannesburg, preparing to meet my extended family, and here I am, sitting around with cuts to my face and arms and a broken leg facing certain death.

The laughter turned into tears of anguish at the thought of never seeing my parents again. The anguish turned into anger, at no-one in particular, except fate.

"FUUUUUUCK!" I yelled in anger against what decides our doom, not that it would do anything to change the situation.

As time went on, I felt my strength wane due to hunger, and I grab the bow and extract an arrow and aim at the nearest suitable animal: an antelope. Slowing my heart rate, I aim for the heart of the antelope in an attempt to cause as little suffering as possible to the unsuspecting antelope. It chomped on the green grass one second, and then it slumped to the side with an arrow stuck in its chest the next. I rush to finish the kill if necessary by slitting the throat with the knife I pick up, but this is not needed, for the body of the antelope is frozen solid in death, with the grass still in its mouth.

With the hunting knife, I slice off a slab of juicy meat, and gather some dry sticks and pile them under the tree, and light a match from my own suitcase and drop it on the pile. After a suitable period, I tuck into the meat that fills my stomach, and I soon succumb to sleep.

I woke up with a fright after I experienced a horrific dream. It was a dream of an explosion, not the one on the plane, but one that took place many years ago. One of several that took place on that day, actually. The date is the 7th of July, 2005. The place is Russel Square, London. I am walking down the slabbed pavement, holding the safe hands of my father, and past me drives the iconic double-decker bus that holds a deadly threat. The traffic is, as usual, gridlocked. The traffic has stopped for long enough that we are now about twenty meters ahead of the bus, and just like that, a deafening sound and a massive shockwave causes white noise to ring through my panicking mind and throw me off my feet. You guessed it, I was there when 7/7 happened. It was the 9/11 of the U.K., and it caused my P.T.S.D, something no 12-year-old should have been diagnosed with, after 24 months of relentless repeats of that moment when so much death had happened. I was very lucky to escape with just cuts and bruises, but, at times, the horrific nightmares were enough for me to wish I had indeed died, but I was also glad that I had a twin brother who was in hospital that day, he was the one who helped me through the endless struggle. No-one at school understood my struggle, apart from my brother, Lewis. It was his broken arm that saved me from killing myself, effectively. He was not there when the bus exploded, he broke his arm after falling from a trampoline, and because he did not suffer from the unforgiving P.T.S.D., he was able to function like a normal child. Not me, I was on the verge of ending it all, but my brother cut the bed sheets that I had made into a noose.

After I painfully recall the dream, I receive a blow to the head, and I pick up the very thing that fell on my head: a gourd.

I looked up and I saw a mandrill. I shifted nervously backwards, but he opened his mouth. What came out of it was very different to the screech I expected.

"Ah, do not fear ol' Rafiki, human," the mandrill laughed.

I frowned, but at the same time, widened my eyes in shock and confusion. I think the gourd gave me a concussion that distorted my interpretation of reality. I just heard a voice come from the mouth of an ape! This was not scientifically possible. Humans' tongues are the only ones capable of distorting sounds into words.

"Did you just...speak?" I asked at length but then spoke to myself. "Oh, I'm going insane, I'm speaking to a fucking monkey, now I'm speaking to myself, ha, ha, yep, I've gone completely fucking insane," he shouted.

"Aha, you are not insane, you are just not used to us," Rafiki said.

"No..no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you see, you shouldn't be talking, only humans can speak like...you are," I explained.

"Dat is so untrue, you humans have only studied animals from far away, when we are fearful or when we are unconscious," Rafiki counter-explained.

I didn't know what to say or do. I was so confused, could it really be true, or had the sun got to my head? Rafiki studied my face and cocked an eyebrow.  
He moved for a closer look, and I blindly searched for the hunting knife, and when I thought I had found it, I put it against Rafiki's throat.

"You dink you will harm me with a stick?" he cackled. "I sense a great and important future for you," Rafiki said.

"Oh, what are you? Some soothsayer?" I ask. "What else are you? Fortune teller?" I ask further.

"Mmm, fortune teller, soothsayer, doctor, wizard, anyding you want me to be," Rafiki said.

"I want you to be someone who gets the fuck out of my face!" I yelled.

Rafiki remained unmoved. I felt a little guilty for shouting at him. "I'm sorry...I'm just so confused, I mean...I don't expect you to know where I came from,  
but I just survived a plane crash,"

"Ah, so dat was what dat big bird ding was," Rafiki said. I nodded.

"Well, it is the tradition for the Pride Lands that all special visitors meet the Royal Family," Rafiki declared.

"Wait, 'Pride Lands'? Royal family? What the hell are you on about?" I asked.

"De Pride Lands," Rafiki gestured to the surrounding landscape "It is everyding de light touches, it is de kingdom of the great King Mufasa," he said proudly.

"Nah, I think the Tanzanian government would have something to say about that," I joked. "Is the king..like, a tribe...person?" I asked.

"No, no, no, he is a lion," Rafiki answered. I frowned and wondered if I had boarded an exoplanetary flight instead of a transnational one.

"You know what, there's nothing else for me to do, I might as well meet this...royal family," I had visions of feline versions of Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip,  
Princes William, Charles, Harry, all of those, but I never thought I would meet my future family.

When we finally reached the rock formation that towered over my like the Shard, Rafiki instructed me to wait beneath the promontory that branched from the tall rock.

Rafiki walked into the den and found that the lions were waking up for the second time in the morning. This time to investigate whatever made that noise.

"Ah, Rafiki, there you are," the King said.

"Mufasa, I have something to tell you," Rafiki announced hurriedly.

"Is it about that big crash earlier?" Mufasa asked.

"Yes, but I have made a discovery," Rafiki said.

"Why don't you tell me on the way there?" Mufasa suggested.

"Uh...yes, my king," Rafiki accepted, knowing that Mufasa would come across the human.

I waited patiently under the shadowy belly of the rock formation I was yet to learn the name of. Still breathtaken by the stunning scenery, I saw the mandrill descend the declination in the land that sank under the rock, and to my dual fear and amazement, I saw also a lion of a magnificent size, and behind him was a group of lionesses and cubs.

"Oh, I say...a human has come unto us! The prophecy of Aiehu has come true!" the large lion exclaimed.

The pain returned to my leg as I grew dizzy, and my vision blurred as I slurred "Nope." All turned to blackness as I felt myself slump to the ground.

"Heart of a lion, this one," Simba remarked sarcastically.

 **A/N: Wow, that was a long chapter, but that is no excuse to pause writing. I always aim to complete stories as quickly as possible, but it doesn't help that I already have a pile of stories to finish. Oh, well, better to start it when I feel motivated to do it.**

 **The weapons will be explained soon. It is not just some plot hole.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: This is the start of many dreams in this story that will not only be caused by Alex's P.T.S.D, but by an external source.**

 _I reached into my pocket and felt the cold outline of my key and gripped it, moving my hand to fit it into the lock_ _and turned the silver key and the green door opened as the metal knocking ornament rattled in the motion. I called out for my mother, but I received no reply. I walked closer, and the sound of crying was heard. I opened the door to my lounge, which was usually opened but was closed when_ _Lewis and I were children and our birthday and Christmas presents were being wrapped._

 _I open the door, and to my mild grief, I saw my mother sitting on the larger of the two grey sofas with her head held by her hands, sobbing heavily._  
 _Lewis was sitting next to her, with his arm around her shoulder. I briskly advanced towards my family, who oddly did not notice my presence. I went to put my hand on Mum's shoulder, but when I saw that my hands fell through her body, I glared at my hands with confusion, and then I look up at the mirror that hung over the sofa, and to my horror, I didn't see the reflection of the tall, dark-haired man with blue eyes I expected, but the reflection of my father, whose eyes were red and puffy, he had just entered the room, having been told the dreadful news that his son had been killed in a plane crash while at work._

 _"Dad..." I said quietly, realising that this was a horrific dream in which he experienced the horrific pain that his family endured in the time after the crash._

 _"Mum, don't cry, can you not see me?" my voice echoes as the carpet beneath me burns with a hot fire. A monumental sound of a huge explosion sent me spiralling down the endless void and then I felt cold rock._

I jolted up with a scream of terror, but the pain of my broken leg, now bandaged up with leaves, made me wince. I observed my surroundings: Rugged walls of a dark cave enlightened only by the afternoon light. As I look to my right, I jumped in shock as I saw a pair of curious amber eyes staring at me. The eyes belonged to a small cub who bore golden fur.

"Are you okay? I noticed you moving a lot in your sleep," the cub said.

I take a moment to accept that it was an actual voice that came from the cub's mouth. I nodded and twisted my neck to see outside. I watched the lion enter the cave.

"Ah, I see the human has awoken," he said. "I trust that you do not intend to harm us," he presumed.

"No, I'm not going to harm anyone, unless they pose a serious threat to me," I replied.

"Oh, it's just that we found some sharp objects in your...black thing," the lion gestured to the bag and my suitcase that were strewn against the wall.

"May I ask for your name?" the lion asked.

"Of course. My name is Alex Maximilian, but you can just call me Alex," I said.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Alex. My name and title is King Mufasa, Lord of Kiburi, Sixth King of the Second Age of the Pride Lands, but you can call me Mufasa,"  
Mufasa said.

"The cub right up in your face, he is my son, Simba," Mufasa chuckled. I ruffled the tuft of fur on his head, it was soft to touch.

"And this is my mate and queen, Sarabi," Mufasa nuzzled his tan-furred mate.

"It's nice to meet you all, forgive me for my reaction to your ability to speak, it's just that humans have thought ourselves to be the only species capable of speech.

"If you like, you can sleep in the cave until you heal up and perhaps you can make your way home," Mufasa offered, not knowing my circumstance or where I lived.

"I would like that very much, thank you," I responded with a grateful tone.

"As you can see, you have broken your leg. Our shaman, Rafiki, the one who brought you here, said that you must stay off your leg for a whole moon cycle," Mufasa explained.

I huffed at the prospect of not being able to walk for a whole month. If I were found by humans, I would receive proper treatment from proper doctors, and I would probably be on crutches within a few days. Hey, it would be better than lying on my ass for the whole month, though to be honest, I would do that on my own accord anyway. It's called laziness.

"Would you like a drink? I don't mind you sitting on my back and taking you to the water hole," Mufasa said.

"I am pretty thirsty. Alright, if you don't mind," I accepted. I spun my body to move closer to my suitcase. I scooped two halves of the contents of the suitcase apart with both my hands and uncovered an empty water bottle. I dragged myself back to my former position and Mufasa promptly bent his legs so that I could climb on. I pulled on Mufasa's thick mane and rolled onto his muscular back. "Sorry if I hurt you at all," I apologised.

As we left the cave, I caught the sight of another lion, to my surprise and panic. "Uh, Mufasa, have you not noticed the other lion there?" I pointed to the lion who bore a look of confusion, a frown on the red-furred, black-maned lion's slim face implied his default emotion.

Mufasa laughed. "Oh, don't worry about Scar, he's my brother, not a rogue," he assured me.

"Oh, I'm sorry I mistook you for a rogue," I chuckled nervously in apology.

"Mufasa...what is that white rat doing on your back? Hold still, I shall chase it off," Scar growled, causing me to shuffle towards Mufasa's hind legs.

"You will do no such thing, he is a human guest who has no shelter other than what I have given him," Mufasa said.

"Have you completely lost your mind? You know what humans have done to our pride before," Scar reminded.

Even at this point, I understood where Scar was coming from. "Scar, please do not judge me upon the rituals and nature of my ancestors, our race has considerably developed beyond the concept of your simple minds, no offence," I pleaded. "In our culture, it is frowned upon to harm animals, and we persevere to preserve the population of lions," I explained.

"Look at this guy, he's calling us thick and lying to us! Mufasa, I demand that you send him away," Scar yelled. He had a dry, British accent that was poisoned with disdain.

"I will not send him away, for one, he is injured, and secondly, Rafiki tells me that there is something that this human can give us," Mufasa said.

"Oh, please, Rafiki is just a nut-head who has had too much gourd juice and makes utter rubbish up, when have his prophecies come true?" he asked.

Mufasa knew his answer but didn't want to bring a dark moment in his life to the conversation. "Exactly," Scar responded to the silence.

"If you don't mind, Alex and my family are going to the water hole," Mufasa said at length.

"Oh, please, don't let me interrupt your precious family time," Scar rolled his eyes.

Mufasa, Sarabi, Simba and I made our way to the water hole, and about half way along the journey, I voiced my opinion of Scar: "There's something I don't like about that guy, and why is he here anyway? I thought there was only one male for each pride."

"Scar is my brother, and he has never been a fan of the idea of being a rogue, plus, as you saw, he's not the sharpest claw of the paw," Mufasa said.

"Also, do you have more than one cub? I thought the dominant males mate with all females," I asked.

Mufasa chuckled. "You humans have only studied the lions who have not seen the light and wisdom of Aiehu, and so were not granted the privilege of law, order, equality and love, you have much to learn," he said. "Those who follow the laws of Aiehu rule their pride with a monarchy

"Who is Aeihu? You're God or something?" I asked.

"Aiehu is the creator of everything: Time, life, the ways of it, everything," Mufasa explained.

"If Aiehu created everything, who, or what, created Aiehu?" I asked, expecting to plant a seed of doubt in Mufasa's belief.

"Aiehu is a being beyond time and creation, he has no birth, nor death," Mufasa responded, degrading my atheist question.

I scooped the water bottle through the water and sipped and then downed it. The taste and feeling of the refreshingly cool water were welcomed by my dry mouth. The fresh, smooth water flowing down my throat was a satisfying feeling.

After his drink, Mufasa questioned my earlier aggressiveness. "Rafiki said to me that you swore a lot, is there a reason for your foul vocabulary?"

"Yes, I can only apologise for that, but I did just crawl out of a plane wreck," I conceded.

"What's a plane wreck?" Mufasa asked with a curious and dumbfounded look.

"It's a wreck of something that humans use to travel all over the world, instead of trekking deserts or swimming oceans, but because the plane crashed here,  
bar any investigation team finding me, it is likely that I must remain in Africa," I said.

"You are welcome to stay here for as long as it suits you, Alex," Mufasa said.

"Tank you, your majesty," I gratefully exclaimed.

"Please, call me Mufasa," he responded.

As I climbed back on Mufasa's back, a sudden weariness weighed upon my eyes. I fought to remain awake and upright on Mufasa's cushioned back. His golden fur grew dark according to my eyes, for the sun was sinking below the horizon, and due to the way the sun shone upon the Earth, the sky was an auburn shade, with black bars of cloud blocking the sun.

I yawned and a thought entered my head. "What is that big rock called?" I asked Mufasa.

"We call it many names, but it is most commonly known as Pride Rock," he said. I felt his deep voice vibrate my legs. This feeling, this situation reminded me of the time when my father carried me on his shoulders, in particular, when we were walking towards the London Eye, an experience that I would never forget. I would say that Pride Rock would rival the Eye in height.

I steadied myself as Mufasa climbed the entrance slope onto Pride Rock. The cool air pleased my skin that was earlier drowned in sweat.

Mufasa gently lowered himself to allow me to shift on to my rocky bed, and I gave in to weariness and closed I closed my eyes.

 **A/N: It is quite difficult to write in the first person after writing for a whole year in the third person. If any continuity errors are found, please inform me and they will be rectified.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Another dream, but it is one that is not of memory or fear.**

My long sleep was bearable. Despite the solid mattress in the form of a cold rock, I was not too cold. To resolve the discomfort, I folded a sweater and laid it where my head would rest. I extracted my thin but warm and soft blankets, and together they provided a satisfactory substitute to the air-conditioned, memory foam bed I had expected to be sleeping in. However, even the simplest of plans can be changed, and the changes can alter the course of your life forever. I accepted that I would remain here until the end of my life, which would most probably be reduced in length due to the lack of satisfactory healthcare. No penicillin, antibiotics,  
NHS, no ambulances, nothing.

My thoughts slowed down like my heart as I drifted off to sleep once more, though not necessarily for the amount of time I had wanted.

 _The lids of my eyes opened suddenly, but there was no change in the level of light, or absence rather. My body grew warmer than my blankets kept me, and a red light crawled into the cave like the disquiet noise that I heard from behind._

 _I caught a glimpse of cinders, and this obviously intrigued me. Associating fire with a_ deadly _threat, I picked up a hunting knife with a smooth yet sharp edge. I edged towards the fiery scene, dragging my broken leg behind me, and as my line of sight passed beyond the promontory, I gazed in confusion at a crowd of lions surrounding an enormous fire that reached high into the orange ceiling that was the thick cloud, but they didn't bear water, but fire, ash and smoke. It was an ash cloud!_

 _Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as the lions chanted something I could not understand. It sounded like the lions were yelling 'Salamu Ibilisi'._  
 _The phrase repeated until the fire spread and seemed to peel open, revealing an enormous face of a lion. The chants turned to cheers, and screams. Shrill screams of fear and pain, and then out of the fire hovered the body of a human._

 _"Kiburi!" the man cried. His naked body was covered in blood, slash wounds and deep claw-borne cuts. "Kiburi, save me! Save us all!" the man yelled,_  
 _and almost as soon as a deafening roar was heard, an earth-shattering rumble preceded an enormous blue wave of energy took me off my feet_ , and I woke up with sweating pouring from my forehead and drenching my upper lip. I panted heavily and jumped slightly, causing a spasm of pain that drew a frustrated growl from my mouth. I jumped at the sudden sight of the outline of Simba, intrigued at my movement during the dream.

"This cursed leg!" I growled.

"Are you okay?" Simba asked. I nodded.

"Was it another dream?" he continued the questioning. I nodded once more.

"Well, as my mom always says, it is just a dream," Simba said. Somehow I thought it was more than just a dream, rather than a random combination of recent events culminating in a terrifying nightmare.

"Your blanket looks really comfortable," Simba commented, changing the subject when he saw my face display disturbance.

"It is, it keeps me warm as well," I said.

"Can I test it out?" he requested.

"Of course, just avoid my legs," I accepted. Simba delicately placed a paw to feel the softness of the blue blanket, and he sprang onto my stomach. I groaned as well as chuckled, with the four legs weighing down on my belly. He is just like my cat at my former home in London. Simba kneaded on the blanket, which rose and fell when the claws gripped and released it. His legs collapsed gracefully as his purring relaxed my body, and so once again, I fell asleep.

 **A/N: This story deserves some tender moments, and though there will be about the same number as in the non-human stories, there will definitely be more sad moments. All in the name of relating to the character.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: In my stories, I aim to include sub-plots in which the characters experience problems that are classified as taboo subjects. It is my aim to show that anyone can suffer problems, as well as find success and happiness. No one is immune to life.**

I don't know when I realised I was in this horrible dream, but as hard as I tried, it was impossible to escape it. I remembered the sequence, from the moment I climbed down the bunk bed that I shared with Lewis. I squeaked at the coldness of the metal rungs of the ladder against my bare feet. It was because of this I had quickly descended,  
almost jumped off the ladder.

"Why are you up this early on a Saturday?" Lewis asked about my decision to get up at 6:00 in the morning.

"Don't you remember? I've got a paper round now," I reminded my brother, whose hair was blonde, his eyes were bright blue, much like mine.

"Oh, well be quieter when you get up," he ordered in his groggy voice, muffled under the quilt.

I quietly pulled the door, plastered in Manchester United badges and posters, and gently pulled it shut once I passed the frame and tip-toed downstairs to avoid the noise waking my parents.

I collected my key, wallet and phone, I silently leave the house and head to the newsagent to collect my round and wages. When I arrived, I did what I usually did:  
Greet my cousin David, buy a Match of the Day football magazine and some confectionery for me and Lewis and shuffle the 15-strong pile of newspapers into the fluorescent green bag. It was a usual summer morning, the sun was squished between two tower blocks, and crept over the hill as I delivered the papers to the residents of the terraced houses that were situated along the street of the shop, one of the doors I delivered to was my own house, and I put the magazine in the Daily Mail and slid them through the letter box.

After I returned the bag having completed the round, I walked up the path of stone slabs next to a patch of grass and I turned the lock with my key and opened the door to my house.

"I'm back!" I shouted, and even though it was 8:00 in the morning, an hour before everyone else would get up, I saw Lewis walk down the stairs with a troubled look on his face. He walked sloppily and stopped halfway down.

"Lewis? What's wrong?" I asked, knowing that it was extremely rare that Lewis was awake at this hour.

After a deafening silence, and after hearing the clock ticking louder by the second, I saw that a tear fell from my brother's face.

"What's happened?" I ask as I climb the stairs to comfort him.

"It's Mum...something's happened to the baby," Lewis whimpered. You will understand why I do not like mentioning the baby. Mum was pregnant, up until this day.

"What?" I gasped.

"Dad said that the baby stopped moving," Lewis said. Like me, he was ever so excited to become a big brother. Now that was thrown into disarray.

Lewis sat down on the step due to his shocked state stealing the strength in his legs.

"It's going to be okay," I assured, but even I was not convinced that what I said was true.

The next few hours that ensued were agonising. We were afraid to put the TV on. We waited for what seemed like forever until the sound that signalled the return of our father took longer to finish.

"Dad! Is there any news? Are Mum and the baby okay?" I asked, afraid of the response. His eyes showed tears and weariness.

"Can you get your stuff and get in the car?" he requested with a quivering voice.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Lewis asked.

"Get in the car," Dad ordered.

After doing as we were told, we immediately knew that something bad had happened. His driving style, usually safe and secure, was sloppy. He was quiet.

The road was quiet, as was everything.

"Dad? Has something happened?" Lewis asked nervously.

"Prepare for the worst," Dad said.

"What?" I asked, not knowing what he meant.

"The nurse said to prepare for the worst," he repeated.

Nothing else was said until we reached St Thomas' Hospital in Westminster. We walked through the many corridors, under the many signs.

As we continued, I noticed that all of the wards were passed, until we entered the maternity ward.

Dad pressed a button next to the baby blue doors, and a little voice was detected by my ears.

"Hello, who is it?" the female nurse asked.

"It's Christian Maximilian, and I'm here for my wife, Laura," Dad said.

Since the beginning of these dreams, I have tried endlessly to escape them, but it was an impossible task. I was forced to relive these horrible memories, even more so recently.

We soon turn into the small room with purple walls that we waited in for several hours. I was bored looking at the same posters and books, malcontent to the sound of birds and the breeze knocking the blinds. Dad then left the room for a brief moment, and we saw from the window that a doctor was giving him further bad news.

"Dad, what's going on? You've said barely anything since we've got here," I remarked. I felt my mouth moving, yet my old voice came from it. I knew I had to keep talking so that I could end this nightmare as soon as possible, but I grew even more nervous to continue as the memory progressed.

"The doctors think that the baby has..." his breathing rapidly accelerated as he wept in agony.

Dad swiftly left the room and rested his body against the door. He brought out his phone and made a call, and returned to the room.

"Your nan is going to look after you," he announced.

"Why did you bring us here, then?" I asked.

"I wanted you to see your mum, but...she isn't available," his voice shivered.

We were instructed to take the stairs to the ground floor and wait outside. The sky was a light grey that reflected the cold air. We were soon found by our paternal grandmother who lived in Reading.

 **A/N: Continue to find out what happened to Mum and the baby. Review to convey your thoughts so far.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: The second half of the dream.**

My mind was restless, even after spending the day at the Legoland resort in Windsor and to our surprise, a trip to the Madejski Stadium to watch Manchester United play Reading, which was as unexpected as the situation with my mother and the baby. When my grandmother returned me and Lewis to our home, we came across in our living room a broken man whose tears fell from his face like streams on a mountain. Our father had received the news that no husband or father should hear, and we were about to hear the news no child or sibling should have to hear.

I felt my heart race as I knew the dreaded moment was coming, though no-one noticed my reaction, it seemed that I was literally reliving a memory, with the mind of the 21-year-old man within a body of a 13-year-old child.

"Dad, guess what we did today!" Lewis said with his energetic tone, a residue from chanting at the football match. Dad did not respond in the way we expected.

"Alex, Lewis, you may want to sit down," he advised. I remembered that we both fell into the sofa at the same time, but in this instance, I bent my legs gently, reluctantly giving in to the course of the dream, wishing with every hope I had that it would play out differently.

"You know that Mum went to the hospital because of the baby," he recalled. We both nodded. Dad looked away, afraid to give us the news. After figuring how to deliver the news,  
he faced us once more.

"Your mother and your sibling fell ill very quickly and seriously, and...they won't be able to come home," Dad announced.

Too confused and afraid to conclude, Lewis frowned and asked what Dad meant by it. Dad's face screwed up as his head fell into his hands and he wept.

"Your mother is dead!" he blurted.

Lewis' eyes widened in horror. Like me, he had just lost someone who protected and loved him like few others did. We were distraught at the thought at never seeing her tender, reassuring and beautiful face, not hearing her joyous voice or her infectious laugh.

He wanted to get away from the situation somehow, and the first thing he thought to do was to dash up the stairs, his swift steps drumming against the wooden frame.  
I heard the noise of the door being forced open and slammed shut, and then the muffled yet shrill screams of agony and devastation. I calmly ascended the stairs with tears forming in my eyes.

I quietly opened the door and saw Lewis as a weeping with his head buried in his pillow. My heart was broken at the sight and sound of Lewis' sobs of great distress.  
I walk closer to the bunk bed as I aim to comfort my grieving brother. I sat on the edge of his bed and palmed his shoulder.

"It's not fair!" Lewis wailed. "Why did this have to happen, Alex?" he asked. I was without an answer, I just hugged my brother. I closed my eyes as I cried myself,  
and then found myself glaring at the dull, rugged walls of the cave of Pride Rock.

"Alex?" a cub's voice asked tenderly despite his weariness. I attempt to cease crying as I look at Simba, the cub bore a concerned face and was shocked to see my tears.

"What's wrong?" Simba asked.

Afraid to cause unnecessary distress or shock to the innocent cub, I swing my unbroken leg and pull my weight against the edge of the indentation of the cave wall where I was sleeping. I decided I needed air to clear my mind of the returning sadness.

"Where are you going?" Simba asked, but I gave no answer. I was yet to find the strength to talk about the deaths of my mother and unborn sister.

"Wait up!" Simba cried. His minute paws struggled to keep up with the pace of my lanky legs, despite my limping.

"What's the matter?" Simba's questions continued, and I decided to stop them by finally answering.

"I had another dream, but it...was different, it was a memory," I said, unsure why I went into that much detail. The dreams had increased in the nights prior the plane crash,  
and they did not falter in consistency.

"I can see it was an upsetting memory, you don't have to speak about it if you don't want to," Simba offered. I shook my head.

"I have to tell you, otherwise the pain will grow and I will not recover from it," I said.

"As you know, I do not come from here, but from a land called England. There, we humans use the land to grow and breed food, and we help each other to make our lives better. I used to live in a house, a building were families are made and grown, I, with my twin brother, Lewis, used to go to a school, a place where children learn important skills to make the most of their lives, but one day, when me and my brother were about to become big brothers, disaster struck: My mother fell ill and unfortunately,  
the baby could not survive...nor could my mother," I burst into tears once more as I told the cub my story.

"I'm so sorry," Simba showed sympathy. "I can't begin to imagine what it must feel like to lose your mother, I would hate to lose either of my parents," Simba said.

"It happened over eight years ago, I should have moved on, but I have no ability to do that," I said. "I think it must be my P.T.S.D.," I deduced.

"Your...what?" the golden cub inquired.

"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, it's when the memories of horrific moments remain in your mind like a ghost that haunts the land of its enemy," I tried to explain the torture of my condition.

"Was your mom's death the moment?" Simba asked.

"No, it was a terror attack that triggered it, in my home, the city of London, where millions of humans live and work, a bomb detonated in a bus, something that humans use to get around, which meant there were many deaths. I wish I was one of the 52 innocent people who had their lives cut short," I said.

Simba was taken aback by such a wish. He enjoyed the wonders and excitement of life, playing with his friends and loving his family.

"Someone we both know might be able to help you," Simba said.

 **A/N: So sad! Well, that's my opinion, at least. What's yours? Let me know! It will help me improve my writing.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: What do these dreams mean? Ol' Rafiki knows the answer.**

I eliminated the sleepiness from my eyes as I splash some fresh water in my face. My broken leg was extended, my good limb was bent, and my arm supported my torso, with the other acting as a cup as I moisten my face and sip some water from my palm.

I look up at the tangerine sky, enlightened by the rising sun. Above the orange crown, the sky was still a shade of royal blue, with some of the stars retaining their sparkle.

As I decide to stand up, I accidentally put some weight on my broken leg, and seeth in pain.

"Argh, fuck!" I whispered.

The second attempt was successful and I decide to find a tree that bore a strong and resilient branch, and I soon find one. I ripped off my chosen branches and limped back to Pride Rock, which would have taken less than a minute, but had taken four. I extracted an axe and a sword from my bag and began to trim the twigs and leaves until I was left with two thick branches with two smaller seperate branches near the top. A crutch in human eyes.

"Perfect," I declare as I push down on them and lift myself up, and bring with me a knife for protection, with the aid of the wooden crutches, I hop to Rafiki's tree,  
which was a long trek. Eventually, just before the sun was at its highest, I reached the great baobab tree, and I climb the trimmed branches the mandrill used to ascend the tree swiftly. It took longer than I would have liked to reach the top, but I was met with swift service.

"Ah, Alex, what can I do you for?" Rafiki asked.

"I was hoping you would answer for my increased number of dreams, well, memories, of my life in the human domain," I requested.

"What are dese dreams of, may I ask?" Rafiki questioned.

I took in a load of air, preparing to resurface painful memories. "The most frequent one is of my mother's death," I said.

Rafiki asked me for a lock of my hair, which was parted to the left. It was no longer firm due to the gel, but I still approved of it, and reluctantly accepted Rafiki's request. I pull the knife I had brought with me so that I could painlessly cut some strands of hair. I chose the longest portion of hair, the result of a couple of days without re-applying the gel on my hair. I hand my dark brown hair to Rafiki, who cracked one of his guords open and mixed my hair with the juice, and poured it into an empty turtle-shell. He calmly clicked his fingers, much calmer than I would be if I knew what was going to happen would happen. Suddenly. the shell burst into flames and my skin became quite hot, with my back beginning to sweat. Rafiki clapped his hands and the fire was decimated.

"What the hell was that?" I asked in utter confusion.

"I told you, I am a wizard," Rafiki reminded me of my first encounter with him.

"I said dat dere was a great future in you, and to solidify your future, you must learn to appreciate what you have and to protect it. I also believe dat your past life will be mirrored in your new home," Rafiki told me.

"So, I have to go through what I went through already? I'm already grateful for what I have," I said.

"But what you are grateful for, you do not have any more," I said.

I sighed. He was correct. From the petty to the important. I had nothing from my life in London. My family, my girlfriend, my smartphone, my Xbox One, my home. Nothing.

"Why has this happened to me?" I asked the mandrill.

"Dat I cannot yet tell you. You are not ready for de truth," Rafiki said.

"But you can earn de truth."

 **A/N: What does Rafiki mean by earning the truth? Continue reading to find out. Also, if you can constructively review my story, that would do wonders in improving my writing. If you say nothing, I will write no better.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Let's get this show started! Our first major 'event', if you can call it that, takes place in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it.**

"Now, let us begin," Rafiki said to my confusion. Why did he want to start whatever needed to be started now, when he clearly knows I have a broken leg? Perhaps this thing will require no physical movement.

"What are we doing, may I ask?" I asked the mandrill.

"We are going to do some training in combat," Rafiki announced. Shit.

"Can you not see that I have a broken leg?" I thought I was reminding him, but unfortunately for me, Rafiki had a plan to overcome this obstacle.

"Young Alex, whenever you come across an obstacle, you must not let it sort itself out, for you will not learn how to deal with it, you must deal with dese problems as soon as you can," Rafiki said, rubbing his hands together. This worried me considerably. Was...was he going to unbreak my leg?

"What are you doing?" I ask, though I already had an answer.

"I am going to fix your leg so dat we can proceed your training," Rafiki announced, and I immediately shifted backwards.

"No, you are not touching my leg!" I demanded, obviously not wanting to go through pain, though a part of me knew that I must endure pain to survive in this harsh place.

"It will not take too long, I promise," Rafiki insisted.

"Nuh-uh, keep your hands away from me," I ordered, wagging a finger at the mandrill.

"You leave me with no choice, forgive me..." Rafiki said. He clicked his hands and stretched out his arms, and a strong force pushed me against the trunk of his tree and stopped my mouth from moving. I could only scream in fear as sweat poured from many places as if I was a vase of water leaking from many cracks.

Rafiki put one of his hands on my leg and I breathed heavily and quickly as my fear and expectation of pain only increased, but then I remembered: Rafiki is a wizard.  
Perhaps he would fix my bone without pain, but then...

CRACK! Nope, I was wrong. I screamed in utter pain as I heard, and felt the horrific sound of my bone snapping back in place. My scream decreased into a growl of pain,  
like a wolverine. When I decreased the speed of my breathing enough to talk, I said: "You fucking asshole." He deserved it, he just gave me a shit-load of pain, and he expects to not get an insult in return?

"Put some weight on it," Rafiki suggested. I laughed.

"You think I wanna use my leg normally after what you did to it?" I asked, rubbing my violated leg.

"Young Alex, I fixed it," Rafiki insisted.

I gave him a suspicious glare as I move my body weight onto my knees, and as I fold up my leg, and to my astonishment, I was able to use my other leg to balance my ascent without pain, and when I was standing on straight legs, a broad grin grew across my face, and I laughed in elation. I was standing freely again! And I was not in pain.

"I take it all back, thank you, Rafiki," I showed my utter gratitude to the one who fixed my leg.

"Now you are ready to take de path of your destiny," Rafiki announced. So soon? I have been here less than a week.

"Are you sure I'm ready?" I ask.

"Yes, Mufasa and I will teach you all that you must know to be a true defender of de Pridelands," Rafiki explained, but I stopped him from explaining further when he told me I would be the defender of these lands and gave a voice to my thoughts.

"I can't be a defender of these lands, the enemies of the Pridelands are much stronger than me, I'm just a human..." I said.

"Well, by de end of dis week, I can assure you dat you will be more than 'just a human'," Rafiki informed me. What did he mean by that? If I knew the answer, I would have squealed like an excited child.

"Take one of dese," Rafiki ordered me as he held out two staffs. I firmly gripped a thin yet tough oak staff. How did it end up here, I wonder. I will never know,  
but suddenly, Rafiki swiped his own staff at me, and me flinching and moving my own staff was why I blocked his blow.

"Dis is a rough world, dere are dose who will show no mercy, and dose who will die upon showing it..." Rafiki warned me. I wrapped a second hand around the staff,  
and the mandrill spun his staff, his hands in the middle, like a propellor. I copied the stance of the mandrill but struggled to show the same skill in spinning the staff, and for this, Rafiki advanced towards me, and as his spinning staff almost knocked my own stick out of my hand when the staffs clashed, he eventually hit the back of my knee, and lifted my drooped head with the stick.

"Dere are some foes you cannot fall to, otherwise you will stay fallen," Rafiki claimed. I said this in response,

"It doesn't matter if I fall, what matters is how many times I fall and I keep rising."

"Dat may be true, but dat depends on how hard you get hit," Rafiki said.

"Or if I get hit at all," I confidently replied and hit Rafiki's staff to the floor with my own staff, and got back up and swiftly returned to my attack pose, and to my own astonishment, I spun the staff without catching my arms. Even when I moved my arm, the staff continued to spin. I grinned and smacked the staff against Rafiki's,  
and my offensive caused him to retreat. He backflipped onto a higher branch and extended his arm, and a couple of gourds rose and flew towards me. I blocked the first gourd and it exploded, leaving a thick, sticky orange substance. However, I continued to dodge and whack the gourds, but the last gourd hit my square on my forehead, and the velocity took me off my feet, and I fell on my ass.

That was when something in me clicked, the humiliation and embarrassment triggered something in my mind, and I picked up the staff once more, spinning it effortlessly and blocking whatever missile Rafiki magically hovered and threw my way. I could probably spin, flip, dance, and still the staff would block the stones Rafiki threw at me, and that's what I did.

Rafiki was either afraid of my sudden ability, or tired of my showboating, and so he flicked his wrist, and I levitated in the air, and in an attempt to flip and land on my feet, I poked the tree with the staff, and to my utter surprise, a burst of energy came from the staff, causing a line of sparks to be drawn over my head, behind me,  
and I moved out of the path of the sparks just in time as it completed a circle. I was speechless, but my mouth was hung open like a cave. As was Rafiki, even though he had seen many things, in all his long years, I doubt he had seen anything like that either.

"What...was that?" I asked at length, eventually overcoming my shock-induced speechlessness. Rafiki shook his head.

"When I said dat dere was a great future for you, I was not wrong. It seems dat you have a great power dat you are unaware of," Rafiki started.

"And I have a feeling dat your fireworks are just de root of your potential," he added.

 **A/N: Ooh, sparkly! How did he do that? All will be revealed later on in the story. Don't forget to review if you enjoyed this chapter, and tell me what I need to do in order to improve. Remember, if you say nothing, I will not improve. You have some responsibility for the quality of my writing, as well.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Alright, enough screwing around. I mean business now. I have discarded the** **duty that was The Human Pridelander II, and I intend to upload new chapters to ALL of my stories on a consistent basis. The desire to write has returned to me, and I intend to make use of that passion like there is no tomorrow. Here's a bit, well, a lot of backstory for you.**

"A great future?" I ask. "How great do you foresee?" Should I fear the sparks that fly from my fingers? Could I harm other people with my power Rafiki believes I behold?

"Let me tell you a story, a legend dat every lion knows; the story of Ibilisi". I saw in Rafiki's eyes that he held no pleasure in uttering the last word. I nod nonetheless as a signal for him to proceed. He told me of how the universe and the Earth was created by Aiehu, and other Gods governed different aspects of life, and how the God of Death, Ibilisi went too far in doing his duty. He rewarded disobedience and disillusion with death and suffering. When the devil was expelled from the Parliament of Heaven, Ibilisi swore revenge, and so the other Gods crafted the King's Stone, capable of giving it's bearer a power beyond their wildest imagination. The First King of the First Age of the Pride Lands, Kiburi, used the stone to cast Ibilisi beyond the void that was the universe after the God crashed into the Earth, and that was how the Moon was formed. I was impressed with the story, but my sceptical heart struggled to believe. If Gods existed, and were so benevolent and omnipotent, then they would prevent all that was evil. Be it natural or artificial. They would have stopped 7/7. They would have stopped my mother dying, and everything before and after that happened to my family that was bad. All these thoughts trigger a tear, and Rafiki noticed it falling down my cheek.

"Do you wish me to pause?" Rafiki asked. I shook my head, wiping my tears away.

"Keep on, this is getting interesting," I encouraged. Rafiki smiled at my bravery. He knew what I was thinking of, and even he would struggle to remain calm and be at peace if he suffered my life. He continued with the story.

 _The first human ever to dwell in these lands was one that had strayed far from his path. Not morally, but physically. He had took part in the Crusades, much like my ancestor. I could never remember how many 'greats' came before my forebear who served his nation and religion. I had considered becoming a soldier after what those evil vermin did to me, but I saw those harrowing pictures of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and heard countless stories of mental deterioration, and neglect by the government. And for this reason I changed my mind._

 _Anyway, the Crusader left with his group at a different time than the rest of the army, and they took a fateful wrong direction at the Holy City, heading south instead of north. Rafiki told me that, tragically, all but one of this group survived, eventually arriving in the kingdom of Kiburi. He was close to death by starvation and exhaustion. The Gods gave the pride of Kiburi a sign that the human was special, and would be a vital asset and weapon in the survival of the Pride Lands, for he had combat skills that were instilled into his mind since he was a young man. He was gifted the ability to communicate with lions when he woke up from unconsciousness, and he got to know the pride, forming a close bond with the King and his children, and after saving from many predicaments and threats not only members of the Pride Lands, be they lion or non-lion, and even the heirs to the throne and even the King himself, Kiburi felt obliged to return the favour and decided to adopt him as his own son._

 _However, one of the main problems that kept harassing the kingdom were the followers of Ibilisi; namely hyenas. The scavengers wished that they could possess a more desirable role in the Circle of Life, and they knew they would not fulfil their wish by their own will, so they pledged loyalty with Ibilisi, who was determined to destroy the Circle of Life and rule the universe in his corrupted image. The Gods gifted the human also the ability to move objects that were rooted to the Earth, to walk on water as if it were ice, to walk through fire as if it were but mist, and even to fly as a feather on the wind._

Alex was amazed. He associated these talents with superheroes and deities, and the way Rafiki was going, he reckoned the mandrill would tell him that he would one day acquire these abilities. He attempted to hold fast his inner child, and not get carried away and end up disappointed.

The human, whose name was Edward, was appointed as 'Royal Holy Guardian, Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of the Sun and the Moon'. Alex absorbed the title, and remembered that his great uncle was a member of the Dutch Royal Family, and his great grandfather, the British Royal Family. Lord Maximilian, Earl of Hereford, Duke of Worcester was his title, and was the reason that Alex and his family lived in such luxury. They inherited a mansion surrounded by patchwork fields of green and yellow, near the Herefordshire town of Bromyard, but they decided to not live in such a large dwelling, for they were a family of just four. Christian, Laura, Alex and Lewis. Father, mother, and the two sons. Instead, the turned into a small hotel. With the money made from their new business, they decided to buy all the places we went to on our holidays; a charming holiday cottage near the rugged coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and a caravan park in Devon. They were a modest family who only had to work for about five years into their adult life. After they had married, the last Earl of Hereford perished. My paternal grandmother was next in line, but she refused. She was not the type to indulge in luxury, so she passed on her inheritance to my parents.

 _Edward protected and defended the Pride Lands, to the point where he was known as 'The Guardian' in all corners of Africa, from the outskirts of the Great Desert to the slopes of Table Mountain. His birthday, known as The Day of the Sun and the Moon, when the sun and the moon were in the same sky, was celebrated in every land whose people worshipped Aiehu._

 _However, as the years passed, and with them, Kiburi, a shadow grew from the north; sprouting from the Great Desert like a stubborn weed. Strange creatures, slender and thin, described as grey demons whom bore a blend of features of cheetahs and hyenas, would come from that region, slaughtering innocents and those without defence, all in the name of their creator: Ibilisi._

 _Ibilisi, who was in the form of a crimson eye with a pupil as slim as a spear, gazing far way lands from his dark tower. He kept a careful watch over the Pride Lands and her allies, the Mountain Pride and the Sunland. Ibilisi ordered his minions to destroy the Sunland. The creatures of grey were faster than cheetahs themselves, their long, fleshless legs capable of long and quick strides. They massacred the members of the Kingdom of the Sun, where the first of the sunlight reaches Africa._

 _This was an attempt by Ibilisi to draw a retaliation from the Pridelanders, and show that they are not the perfect kingdom as they are perceived to be. The Pridelanders did not react aggressively, but gave Ibilisi an ultimatum: Leave our allies alone or they would unleash the full power that Edward beheld._

 _Ibilisi was not swayed, and his forces moved to the north. The Mountain Pride were warned of the attack and were prepared, with Edward commanding their small army. The soldiers could not kill many enemies, for the skill of the long blade by Edward was legendary. The King's Sword was the sword gifted to the human guardian who was chosen to help the Pride Lands endure hardships that were otherwise impossible to survive._

 _However, when Ibilisi came to the battle, he took the form a human, clad in black armour, lined with sharp decorations and ornaments. His weapons included a sword,_  
 _axe, mace, and a shield, which was the same size as Edward, for Ibilisi was about ten feet in height. The greatest hero valiantly fought the greatest enemy, and when defeat looked certain, Edward conjured the power of the King's Stone, the great jewel encrusted in his broadsword. Ibilisi, with his own Godly powers, froze the body of Edward, and attempted to force the stone from the sword. Such was the design of the sword, the stone and the sword were one in the same, so Ibilisi was forced to break the sword, smashing it into seven jagged shards._

 _All hope turned to despair at that moment, and everyone watched helplessly as the Guardian was about to be killed. However, Edward was not one to stand by and watch his enemies victor. He would not do it in the Promised Land of the north, nor would he let this Promised Land fall at the whim of a God without attempting to prevent the demise of those he cared for. He rose regally as he growled with determination and fear as he charged at Ibilisi with his shield that would block any attack_  
 _by Ibilisi. The shield bore the emblem of the Royal Holy Guardian, the Silver Oak Tree, and the branches shone like glowing veins in the waning sunlight. Blood coursed through his own as he approached the Dark Lord, who bore a mask of frustration as he prepared to strike Edward down, but instead of meeting flesh as he hoped, Ibilisi's dark paw met the metal shield, and Edward swung the shield so the edge, as sharp as claws, met with the surface of Ibilisi. It caused a temporary vertical cavity to appear across his face. It filled s quick as the God's temper broke. He slashed, swiped and dived at Edmund, who, despite successfully dodging or parrying the blows, was struggling to maintain his strength. Fatigue began to drain his energy like water in a basin._

 _Ibilisi took advantage of this, and finally overpowered Edward, ready to execute the human. Edward, with his quick thinking and tenacity, wrapped his hand around the hilt of his sword, and pierced the surface of Ibilisi's form, and this provided an adequate distraction for Edward to thrust the stone into the being, where the heart would be located on any other lion, summoning its fullest power. Ibilisi arrogantly thought that Edward was giving up, but the stone was designed to self destruct, and so it did. The stone diminished in luminosity and crumbled into dust, slipping through his fingers as he edged away from the God who was about to depart the universe in his own destructive method. His black pelt suddenly exploded into a blinding light, everyone in the vicinity had to shield their eyes for about ten kilometres away, such was the brightness. The size of the light reduced into a small yet boiling sphere of magma, and it disappeared, leaving only a mild shockwave._

 _Everyone was frozen, as silent and still as the air, and then a few moments passed like they were hours, and every witness of the defeat of Ibilisi cried in elation and rejoice._

 _"All hail the Guardian! All hail the crusader!" every soul chanted. Edward carefully picked up the scattered and sharp shards of the King's Sword, but noticed that the stone had disappeared. A brief panic seperated that moment and the second that Edward realised a small shard that remained in the cross guard._

When Rafiki culminated the story, I held even greater pride in being English, and I now considered to have come across the land where such deeds of bravery and heroism was a greater honour than most gifts. I applauded the story, and Rafiki responded with a subtle nod.

"Why was I never told this in history? How was this 'Edward' the only soul to have entered the Pride Lands?" I asked Rafiki after I ended my applause.

"Only those who are chosen by the Spirits are worthy of laying there eyes on this holy land," Rafiki explained. And that was then I realised that:

"I was chosen? Chosen for what purpose?" I asked. He wasn't going to say what I thought he would, would he?

"You are the next Guardian."

 **A/N: I am so happy that I was able to finish a new chapter after the longest of lasts. What did you think of that story within a story? Constructive criticism is appreciated.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: See? I told you I ain't messing around. Let's find out how Alex reacts to the fact that he will be the next Guardian?**

"I'm the new Guardian?" I requested confirmation, and with a smile of excitement, Rafiki nodded.

"In the prophecy of the Guardian, spoken at the end of the First Age of de Pridelands, the Spirits spoke of a man who shall come unto the Pride Lands, and out of tragedy, hope will be borne from the inspiration of he who will be called...'Alexander'," he proclaimed.

This relevation was beyond my most elaborate fantasies, if what Rafiki spoke of was true, it would appear that the wonders of my juvenile imagination would return to me like a friend unseen for decades. The powers of walking on water, and through fire, and in the air seemed impossible. If this is but a dream, I wish not to wake, and at those moments in my dreams, my body would be taken from them and I would cry to dream again.

So I deduce that this is not one of those dreams. Perhaps it is not a dream at all. The reasons behind my unique gift to understand animals make sense, and even my sceptical mind cannot find flaws in them. Yes, 'tis not a dream, but one of the greatest honours men could hold. To be the Guardian of a king, and to be a role model for normal people. Yet...surely there must be a con somewhere. What happened to Ibilisi? Did he really perish? My experience of video games told me that the final boss always comes back to haunt a soul, be it physically or mentally. Be it guilt, regret or injury, will I endure this? Could Ibilisi return? I ask the question to Rafiki, who said something I wished I did not let my ears feast upon.

"It is said dat Ibilisi comes for revenge every century, but a new Guardian is chosen before Ibilisi's return, each and every time."

"So, his return is imminent?" I ask? My heart sinks like a stone at the thought that I would have to fight, even defeat a God! I had only been here for no more than a week, and already I am given news of an impossible task that I am tasked to complete! How could I possibly defeat a God? Is it even possible, never mind probable? Then I remember Rafiki's story, and how Edward used the King's Stone, but it had disappeared without explanation, at least Rafiki never gave me one. And the sword that was broken into seven shards. Where was it? I asked this question to the mandrill and he replied:

"De sword cannot be found, it presents itself to de Guardian when he is ready, which you are not. You have much to learn about combat and the laws of dese lands."

"Obviously," I replied. I smiled in excitement yet fear. I couldn't wait to help the Pridelanders and get to know them more.

"The people of the Pride Lands are my new family, and this is my new home. I shall defend it with every breath I take and every drop of blood I shed. Until the hour comes that I perish, I will not allow harm to come to the Pride Lands, and I will make Edward proud. I shall not fail those who have faith in me. I will not betray your trust, or the trust of the King and the Kings and Queens who follow, for I am The Guardian," I vowed, standing once more, and as I said this oath, the light of the sun, masked by a cloud, revealed itself once more, and I stood in a position where the sun shone brightly on my heart. It was a sign that I would protect and love the Pride Lands and her folk. With the Great Kings of the Past, I fear nothing with them to bless. Feeling my painless legs, and stretching them, glad that the pain was but a memory, I prepared to depart, but not before the mandrill spoke once more.

"I am glad. I believe dat de future of de Pride Lands is safe as long as you are it's defender," Rafiki said, to my rise self-esteem.

"Thank you, Rafiki. I will never forget this day, nor everything you have done for me," I promised. He nodded in gratitude.

"You're welcome. Tomorrow, we will practice combat."

* * *

By the time I had abseiled down Rafiki's tree via one of the thick vines that hang from and strangle the enormous baobab tree, I predicted that the day was eight hours into its course. It was at this time that I would usually wake up in my London home, but I have learnt more in the three hours since the waking of my eyes than I would in an entire lifetime. I was going to be the next Guardian, and undoubtedly, my name will go down in history, even if I will only be remembered by lions, this is what you call making something of your life. This was obviously not voluntary, but it was necessary. I was destined to defend the land of Kiburi, or die trying.

I decide to return to Pride Rock. Knowing that lions usually rest for up to twenty hours of the day (and I thought I was lethargic), I predicted that they were in slumber. What I hadn't known is Simba's love of mornings, and his habit of waking all who hear his young voice. His curiosity, enthusiasm and compassion reminded me of Lewis.

'Oh, I shall miss thee, brother, yet my love and memory shall not diminish' I promised, not knowing that I was not yet finished with those of the human race.

I returned to Pride Rock sooner than my thoughts ended, and I found myself ascending the sloping entrance of Pride Rock, and to my utter surprise and confusion, I found myself litterally stepping into a pair of sandals, positioned in a way that my strides would go unchanged. _Strange._

I would ask whom these sandals belonged to, but I suppose there are no souls who would have much use for them, so I carefully assume that these are for me. _Why_  
 _were they given to me? Who put them there? And in such a strange way!_ All I know is that socks and sandals are not a pretty look. My once-white socks had turned to a dull grey, and so I discard them near my suitcase and strap the sandals firmly to my feet. They had the colour of brown, and the feel of the most comfortable velvet and the appearance of leather, and had silver metal buckles, so whoever made these were not messing about. It's better than having your socks pierced by stones as sharp as needles, and then prodding into my feet! Ouch!

As I tested them out, it felt like I was walking on air. The padding beneath the soul was made of what seemed like memory foam, and adapted to take the shape of the surface beneath my feet.

I heard the heartwarming sound of the laughter of a cub, and I went back outside to witness the cause of the laughter, and a broad smile grew across my face as I saw Mufasa running from Simba, before the cub tackled the Lion King to the floor. This reminded me of the times that my own father would play with us as young children. I tried to keep at bay any tears from developing, for this a happy moment. The happiest moment since I have arrived in the Pride Lands, and I'm not even involved in it.

Soon after, a bird of blue and white feathers with a red beak came into view from behind my peripheral view, and he swooped down and spoke to Mufasa who then spoke something unreached by my ears that Simba disapproved of. Perhaps Mufasa informing him of his need to deal with an urgent problem? That is what it seems like as the King departed towards the sun.

Simba trudged through the sun-stained grass and I decided to sit on the right side of the ledge that branched from Pride Rock like a misshapen tree ad watched Simba climb the ascent to his home.

"You okay?" I asked him. I didn't like this new depression I saw in him. His ears were pinned to his head as if they were glued there, and his tail dragged against the earth. I tried to find a memory so I could relate to Simba, but the closest I can think of was when Lewis went on a different school trip than me, or when he went to a university almost two hundred and fifty miles from mine; the University of Westminster. I achieved a degree in Politics, while Lewis claimed a degree in Biology at Worcester University.

"Yeah, it's just Dad is _always_ being asked for, I barely ever get to spend time with him!" he complained. "I wish I had someone who was always there for me, and they understood me," Simba claimed. I felt honoured that he would reveal this information, then again, I told him about my dark secret that was my P.T.S.D.

"Surely you have some friends here, who wouldn't want to be friends with a prince?" I tried to motivate him, and encourage his present mood.

"Yeah, I have a few, but all the other cubs don't like me. They think I'm snobby, and that I'll treat them with no respect," Simba replied. I felt quite sympathetic towards the cub. I too know what it feels like to be prejudiced for your social class and wealth.

"And there's this girl..."

"Way up!" I chuckled, and in return, I received a icy glare of annoyance from the cub. I shook my head, and encouraged him to continue.

"...and I really like her, she is the most beautiful,!" he said, exasperatedly.

"I've been there, you have to get 'em while they're there." _Alex, you fucking **idiot**! You are talking to the next King of the fucking Pride Lands, and you are taking the piss out of his love life? Are you fucking serious?_

"Alex! Why aren't you taking me seriously?" Simba cried. He was true, and I felt horrible for it. _Stupid, stupid idiot, Alex. You're here to make friends and build trust, not antagonise them._

"I'm sorry. I really am," I apologised categorically and decided to give him some proper advise.

"Look, if you have feelings for this one lucky girl, don't suppress them, for you might regret them. Embrace and live with these feelings, and if you are sure, then you should tell her your true feelings," I said. _Much better, good Alex._

"Thanks, Alex," Simba showed his appreciation.

"Why don't you meet my friends?" Simba suggested. Thank goodness that he still trusted me enough for him to want me to meet his friends. _Don't make the same mistake again, Alex._

"Sure, I would be delighted to meet them," I accepted gratefully. I promptly followed Simba to the water hole. My white shirt keeping me at a tolerable temperature as the sun grew stronger as the morning began to turn into noon. At the water hole, I gasped in awe at the sight of elephants, zebra, antelope and lions. I thought the closest thing to the real thing would be by the National Geographic channel. You don't see this everyday, that's for sure. Simba walked into a shallow forest, and a chorus of laughter pleased my ears, and then the sound was conducive with my eyes as I saw the cubs play a game resembling tag.

"Hey, everyone," Simba's voice was dwarfed by the mass of sound, and then Simba got really annoyed. He shouted to the top of his lungs and that was only just enough to catch the attention of the horde of cubs. Simba cleared his strained throat and said,

"Everyone, this is Alex," he introduced me.

"Oh, it's the Guardian everyone was speaking of," a female cub who was coated with a cream pelt and bore blue eyes said.

"Please, call me Alex," I requested.

"Yes, sir...uh, I-I mean 'Alex'," she replied, and I couldn't help but smile and admire her manners. They teach their young well here it seems, or so I thought until  
another female cub with sandy golden fur voiced her opinion, and by her post-comment reaction, I guessed that it was by accident.

"Look at it's legs, and it's straight back! It's so weird!", she said, and then asked "Did I say that aloud? Sorry."

I chuckled at her apology, knowing that her comments were not malicious. "It's okay," I said.

"Hey, does anyone want to finish our game?" a dark gold cub asked.

"If I recall correctly, Nala was it!" Simba announced, and then everyone wasted no time in evading Nala, as the blue-eyed cub was known. She moved to blend in with the golden grass as she used her hunting knowledge passed down from her mother to her advantage. I decide to quickly get a drink from the nearby lake, but knowing my luck, I shall turn my head for one second, and something bad would happen. _Don't jinx it, Alex._

 **Simba's POV**

I ran as fast as I could, past the acacia trees and beyond the area that was considered to be the waterhole. The unspoiled grass provided excellent camouflage against Nala, but I didn't think about my scent. She was perhaps the most familiar with my scent out of the rest of the cubs, for we spent more time together than we spend with the rest of the gang. Whenever I'm around her, I feel nervous, yet calm, afraid, yet fearless. I really like...no, love her, but she doesn't know this. I'm afraid of her laughing at me, or that she would reject me, and fall for someone else. She is the one, I can feel it. I would love no other more than I do right now. This is hopeless, and even though I didn't like Alex not taking me seriously, he is right. I should at least tell her my feelings before it is too late.

My ear flicked at the sound of the grass brushing against itself in the wind, and the calm, soothing soud of water running against stone. About ten metres to my left lies the Spring of Life, the source of the short river that feeds the waterhole. I then gasp at another sound, that of a paw delicately stepping on a grassy surface, and I knew it was Nala. I could smell her. I was doomed to become 'it'. I didn't want to face the humiliation of a lame defeat, nor to be beaten easily in a sprint. I decide to do something, and that something was to tense my hind legs to start sprinting, but Nala was too fast for me. I began to ran, and after about two seconds, I could feel her paws drum against the earth behind me, licking my heels, and before I know it, my body is wrapped with Nala's paws and the momentum caused us to do several somersaults, and I then expected Nala to pin me to the floor, and I would grunt in defeat and another chance to tell her how I feel would be missed.

However, the terrain of the area depressed and the somersaults continued, and my head became light, and a pain brewed near the top of my head as the world spun around me, almost making me vomit. When we reached the bottom of the hill, the rolling culminated, to my surprise, me pushing Nala into the floor, and as the world around me spun relentlessly, my eyes met with Nala's, and then I ignored everything else, my disorientation, the pain in my head, the sensation in my throat, the wind and the nearby animals. It was just me and her...her beauty, her perfectly proportioned face, her delicate, gorgeous features. I had this feeling that everything was going to be alright, that it will never get worse. Her face was just so faultless, untainted...and I wanted her...all for my own.

"SIMBA!" Nala shouted, making me flinch violently. What happened to me? What was this beautiful feeling in my heart and stomach? I remember now...it was both terrifying, yet the best thing that ever happened to me.

"Oh, good. You're back in the Pride Lands," she said sarcastically. It was true, I had been to the moon and back, and it was amazing. I have to tell her now, there will be no better opportunity. If I failed now, I had failed for good.

I almost descended into the same trance, but I deduced that the worst, and the best, was over. I heard her beautiful voice continued to drone on like birdsong. It brought comfort to my heart, but then I remembered my purpose and had to cut short her voice.

"Nala," I caught her attention, and as she waited for my question, I froze. My tongue went into meltdown as I fell into a minefield of undiscernible babble.

"Nala, I...I-I...uh...uh...I-I-I" I stuttered and stalled before I began to panic. This was going horribly wrong, and for that reason, I started to hyperventilate, and I saw the fear in her eyes, and I couldn't stand it. I-I can't even think straight!

"Simba, Simba!" she cried, and her voice soothed my mind. I relaxed and my heart returned to a friendlier pace.

"What's the matter? Is there something you want to say?" she asked. She had no idea. I have been wanting to say it for months, and it had gone one for too long now, even as far as me temporarily falling into madness. Simba saw Nala's patience in her eyes turn into...longing. Did...did she feel the same way? No, she couldn't. She was far too beautiful for me...why am I even bothering? I am hopeless! Yet, a spark of courage ignited hope in my mind.

 _Get her while she is here._ Alex's words made sense, and proved more helpful than I thought they would.

"Simba, tell me! What is it?" she asked. I was ready.

"Nala, you are the most beautiful girl I have had the fortune to come across, and I believe you should know that I love you. You are more fair than all the jewels in the Ruby Caverns, and as graceful as the sunrise, and you have enlightened my life and inspired courage in my soul," I said in a surprisingly calm fashion. Was that too much?

Nala smiled, her eyes lit up, and I fought with every strength not to succumb to another spell of madness. She wore the mask that was my favourite face on her exquisite body, and it represented everything that was good about her, how she made me feel, her kind and selfless nature, and...I couldn't help myself...

My dreams prevailed! The face that I fell in love with, I wanted to...touch it in the way people show their love. Our lips met, and it felt amazing, even better because of who I was kissing...I couldn't get enough, it was bliss...but was I too rough? Did I do it for too long? Oh, goodness...what have I done? I didn't even ask for her permission?

"Oh, my God! Nala, I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me, I...I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," I blurted these words in about two milliseconds. Well, probably not that fast, but I spilled out words like a waterfall. Nala put her paw on my lips, and I immediately closed my mouth.

"First of all, shut the hell up," Nala ordered. I nodded.

"Secondly, you have no idea how long I have waited for this moment," she claimed, to my astonishment. She did indeed share these feelings, but I doubt she would love me after my meltdown and my illegitimate kiss, but something happened that I didn't expect. She wrapped her paws around my neck and our lips met once again. I froze in astonishment.

"I love you you too, Simba, son of Mufasa," she admitted, to my utmost relief.

"Sorry for that, I just hadn't felt like this before," I said.

"Simba?" Nala smiled, having remembered something.

"What?" I asked.

"YOU'RE IT!" she yelled, before dashing into the distance.

 **Alex's POV**

I drank about four handfuls of water, having forgotten my plastic water bottle that once bore the famous 'Evian' label. I spared an eye between every sip of fresh water for the cubs, but I couldn't see Simba or Nala. I decide to search for them after I finish my fifth intake of water, and such was the surprise of the moment that followed, I almost choked on the water. The harrowing shriek that sunk my heart. _Simba!_

Or Nala, or anyone. They could be in trouble, or hurt...God forbid any worse fate. I dare not think on it, and I ran as fast as I could towards the source of the screaming, and I heard Nala shout 'Simba'.

My initial fears came true, and if Mufasa found out anything happened to Simba, he would not be pleased. Would he banish the Guardian? Is that even possible?  
My thoughts culminate as I gasp in horror! Simba lying on the ground, surrounded by the cubs all displaying masks of fear and horror.

"Make way!" I ordered, and the five cubs moved at my command. And then I see what caused the fuss. Two small and identical wounds, and the two tiny globules of blood that came from it. I have a horrible suspicion:

"What happened to Simba?" I ask, almost expecting the answer that I feared. I looked into the panicked eyes of Simba, and saw the beads of sweat on his paw pads.

"He was bitten by a snake!" Nala whimpered.

 **A/N: Oh, dear. This can't be good. Who knows if the snake is poisonous? We will find out together in the next chapter.**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Will Simba survive to tell the tale about how he was bitten by a snake? I don't like his chances. This could get ugly. If the worst happens, don't blame me, I'm not a doctor.**

The words of Nala's voice filled with terror echoed in my mind like a siren of fear.

'Simba has been bitten by a snake'

This was bad. This was very, very bad. What if the snake was poisonous? For all I knew about animals, Simba's internal organs could be shutting down as I think, so I decided to think no longer. However, another debate started in my mind. Rafiki's tree, or Pride Rock? Pride Rock is nearer, but it would take longer for Simba to get vital treatment, as Rafiki would have to be sent for, which itself would spend precious seconds that Simba, nor anyone, might not be able to afford.

I decided that to go directly to Rafiki's tree would be the most efficient for Simba's survival. I don't even know if he is at a point that survival is at risk. This is precisely the type of situation in which my brother's knowledge on animals would come into use, and coincidentally enough, our favourite animal was the 'Panthera leo', as he irksomely called them.

I amiably lifted Simba and retained him close to my chest...like I would do for a sibling. I hurried in the bearing of Rafiki's tree, and for some reason, my legs moved at a greater pace than I thought they would. I only intended to jog but my legs moved as if they were running but at the same physical exertion of jogging. I thought little of it, and Simba said what he thought would be his last words.

"Alex, tell my Mom and Dad that I love them," he requested, but I shook my head and smiled tenderly at the cub.

"Fear not, Simba, for you shall live to see another day yet," I promised, but I myself wasn't without a doubt. What if Simba was about to enter a state of anaphylactic shock, or descend into a coma that he would never wake from. I once watched a video on Facebook that showed snake venom turning blood into a solid substance, but that's just the internet, right? It's full of fools and packed with pricks.

This is no time for immaturity, I have to rid myself of this juvenile personality. I am destined to be the Guardian of the King, and I would have to learn to behave accordingly. I don't like not being taken seriously, so it is only right that I heed to other people. This is not a game where I can respawn if I die, this is not a childhood fantasy that you can escape, it is the noblest duty a man can hold.

By the time Rafiki's tree had come unto my view, I noticed that Simba was awfully silent. He wasn't wailing in pain and lamenting his sorrow and fear, he was unconscious.

My mind first thought that he had died, and a rush of irritation caused by my sweat sticking to my grey shirt caused Simba to twitch, and I sighed in contentment. He wasn't dead. Way to conclude things, you moron.

The tree was cloaked with sunlight, and the broad trunk was a colour of light brown, and behind it was a mechanism that could be compared to a lift. It was the only method in which I could ascend the tree without compromising Simba's safety, and so I boarded it and I shook the vine that was hanging from above, positioned next to the

mechanism, assuming that it acted as the 'button'. It seemed unyielding sufficiently, and it jolted into life, for someone was operating the elevator made of wood, string and vine, and that person was Rafiki, who bore a mask of shock and concern when he saw me with Simba in my arms.

"What happened to Simba? he interrogated.

"He was bitten by a snake," I announced, pointing to the intricate holes where the snake's fangs had penetrated the cub's skin, and a small trail of blood soaked a few strands of fur.

"Do you know if de bite was venomous?" Rafiki asked, and I shook my head. Even if it turned out to be venomous, could he do something about it? Oh, for God's sake, Alex! Get a grip, you pansy! Of course, he will be okay. Rafiki told me of his skills as a doctor!

He motioned that he wanted to take Simba from me, and I held the unconscious cub in front of me and didn't think of resisting when Rafiki took over the cub. He placed him on a small platform for medical examinations and put his ear to his chest, and Rafiki's sigh of satisfaction told everything I wanted to know.

"His heart and breathing are both normal," he announced. I knew he was alright, totally.

"Why is he unconscious?" I asked about Simba's reaction.

"Simba is known for his drama; when he once sprained his leg, he believed he would never more walk again," Rafiki chuckled, and I joined him, and then I remembered something else.

"Where were these sandals borne from? I found them on Pride Rock," I recalled, lifting my right foot to allow Rafiki a closer look, and to my confusion, the mandrill gasped.

"It has begun already?" he asked.

"What has begun?" I returned with my own question. Was this something to do with my Guardianship?

"One of de many gifts de Guardians were given were clothes of de finest quality, dese gifts represented de gratification held by all species who dwelled in Africa below the Great Desert, for not only did he help defend the Pride Lands, but many other lands who were allied with the Pride Lands. They would be skilled in diplomacy, and their ability to negotiate was matched by few," Rafiki explained.

"So, the Guardian was given gifts by fellow prides?" I was doubtful. Were they really handy to craft human clothing?

"Yes, de animals who were able to perform de instructions, such as de apes; baboons, gorillas...mandrills-" Rafiki aimed his slim fingers to himself "-crafted de sandals so dat de Guardian's feet would not wear, for he was de man of de people, and de animals were eternally grateful for his deeds dat helped dem," Rafiki maintained.

"Okay...thanks, I guess?" I chuckled. If I could adhere those who made these sandals, I would heartily shake their hand...or paw in great praise and high gratitude. Even the unadorned gifts can be the most helpful, and this will not only grant comfort but also make me think of my old home, not that I could forget it anyway.

"Dese sandals are de least remarkable gift dat was given to de Guardian, for he was also presented with a silver helmet crafted of steel, decorated with gold trims at de temple and on de edged with silver, and two separate face shields, one each for de mouth and de eyes, for de Guardian spoke wisely and saw de future; a shield emblazoned with de legendary Silver Tree of de Guardian, with an edge sharp enough to decapitate foes; body armour of thick steel with the Silver Tree on de chest, arm plates embellished with elaborate scenes of fantastic myths and great legends, such as de creation of de universe; and a sword - de King's Sword - de greatest sword dat was ever forged," Rafiki listed, and excitement developed in my mind and awe was struck upon my face like someone had told me the greatest story ever told.

"Where can these items be found?" I asked. I craved with all my heart that I could handle these weapons. Sure, I'll need to practice with my combat abilities, and I know that I must improve my attitude towards my destiny and my behaviour. I am no longer a carefree human who lived in luxury, I am the Guardian, who must help everyone persevere through whatever fate can throw at us.

Rafiki was finishing cleansing Simba's wound with water that glistened in the sunlight, and healing ointment, the mix of a sickly aroma and a heavy stench made me want to heave, so I decided to move closer to unclouded air, and that meant edging closer to where I could see the turquoise sky, filled with sparse but great clouds, and one, in particular, caught my eye, one that seemed to linger over Pride Rock - which was a small needle penetrating the cloud, and as I watched the cloud  
tardily move across the ceiling of the Earth, it...moved. Not as in drifting with the light wind, but the shape of the cloud changed. It took the form of a lion, and I don't know if it was the heat of the sun interfering with reality, but the lion-cloud lowered his head. I was left unspeakable as I am in utter shock and stunned.

I drag my eyes round to Rafiki, who had finished wrapping a leaf around Simba's lower leg as his dressing.

"Dere we go," Rafiki concluded, and as if on cue, Simba's eyes gracefully revealed themselves.

"Hey, buddy," I exclaimed, stroking Simba's cheek. He nuzzled my arm generously and tried to hug me, but his injured arm had other ideas as he seethed in pain.

"You will have to rest dat paw for a day or two, den I will check if it has healed properly," Rafiki said, and Simba nodded in understanding. He then turned his amber  
eyes in my direction, and nuzzled my thigh as I sat down next to him.

"You saved my life, thank you so much!" he continued to display his magnificent gratitude.

"Oh, it was just a silly old snake bite, nothing too complex, thankfully," I reassured Simba. He began to purr on my lap, returning me to the land of memory, when my cat would do the same, just without the kneading. I felt a twinge of guilt nag somewhere in my mind as I had to disturb Simba, who I predicted was about to fall into  
slumber. It has been a long day for this young chap.

"Right, let's get you back home," I suggested, springing up onto my feet, and Simba bore an expression of acquiescence, and he yawned as I reached down to pick him up and take him on the return journey.

"Thank you, Rafiki, for the second time today," I chuckled as I look upon Rafiki for perhaps the last time today, now standing on the elevator, and he pushed a lever that sent us down less than gracefully. We land on the floor with a thump, and I asked Simba if he was content, but no answer, just purring. It caused a surge of satisfaction to run down my spine. My first good deed as The Guardian

 **A/N: Thank goodness for that, see I always knew everything would be fine. (Not really). Anyway, as usual, I would really appreciate some constructive criticism. What will Mufasa and Sarabi's reaction be? Find out soon. (I'm spurting chapters like a vending machine)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Now that Simba is on the way to recovery, what will be the next event to grace the story?**

The sun had passed behind an enormous, pale cloud as I carried Simba back to Pride Rock. On the way, I spared one of my eyes scanning the floor for any other threats, and other than stones as sharp as needles, and malicious horticulture, I found no more snakes. That was a frightening experience for all involved, I should inform the cubs that Simba will make a swift and complete recovery, and that makes me look down at the cub, who was in a slumber as deep as the sea, and I longed for a sleep like him. My sleep was plagued with pain and negative memory, and I hope that perhaps some mental training will help reduce these dreams, and why I am having them so often. I wonder if it was some sort of warning, to prepare me for suffering. Have I not endured enough pain in my short life? In my twenty-one long years, I have lost my mother, survived a terrorist attack that triggered P.T.S.D., and countless other things that I have not yet remembered through dreams.

I continued to gaze at Simba, who looked ridiculously cute, and I felt something when I spent time with him that I had felt with only a few other people; my family.

I felt fondness, trust, and dare I say it, love when I had the pleasure to come across and play with Simba. This was the only time I had really connected and bonded with Simba, and he helped me discover my destiny by recommending that I go seek Rafiki's wisdom, and it really has helped so far, and the fact that Simba had got injured actually helped our relationship. I still don't know why he was the first cub to meet me, out of all his friends, and the apparent extra cubs. Was it that he was the most curious? Was he destined to meet me first? I don't know what it means, but I cannot deny that I have an emotional bond with Simba, I would hate to see him get hurt, and he obviously trusts me to help him, even after our dodgy first impression.

By the time my thoughts end, I am greeted, on the slope of Pride Rock, by Nala, who bore a face of relief, and I gently alerted Simba to our arrival. His eyes revealed themselves, and he yawned again. I smiled as I lowered his body to the ground so he wouldn't have to spring out from my grasp and hurt his paw. He limped towards his friend and they...nuzzled. Well, I suppose he took my advice after all, he finally admitted that he loved Nala. This caused a great deal of pride to beat strongly with my heart.

"Thank you, Alex," Nala said gratefully.

"Ah, it's the least I could do," I played it down humbly.

"We alerted Sarabi about you taking Simba to Rafiki's tree," Nala said. I nodded in understanding. Well, at least I don't have to tell them and risk misunderstanding.

I encouraged the cubs to climb the slope, and Nala runs to her mother, basically an adult version of her daughter, and I walked behind Simba, tempted to pick him up once more and 'fly' him through the air, and that is exactly what I did, and he giggled as I lifted his body high and low, swooping in all directions until I released him on the floor and raced him into the cave.

"Again, again!" Simba requested. I wagged my finger.

"No, that was just a one off, I can do that with you all day tomorrow," I promised.

"Yay!" Simba rejoiced triumphantly. "What time do you wake up?" the cub, extremely hyperactive for a cub who had passed out not three hours ago, asked.

"Well, certainly not as early as you," I replied. "Also, I have to go see Rafiki that day," I added, and with my very eyes, I saw Simba's energy melt into sadness.

"Okay," he moaned. His depression from this morning returned. Something was still terribly wrong, and I felt obliged to ask him what the matter was.

"Simba, if there's something wrong, you can tell me," I assured the cub, who looked at me with eyes glossed with tears. He spoke to me as if a weight was hanging from his throat.

"It's just that no-one my age wants to play with me perpetually...I-I wish I had someone I could play with every waking hour," Simba admitted, and he broke down into a furry pile of sobs. I kneeled close to him and embraced him, allowing the tears to flow for a good five minutes.

"I-I want a brother, Alex...and I am not as selfish as to ask that of anyone; I would not wish pain and worry upon my mother, and you are the Guardian and have better use for your precious time than this worthless prince," he claimed. I knew this was not what he really thought of himself. This was just his emotions affecting his words, even though they were noble and selfless.

"Simba, you and I both know that you are not worthless; you are loved, you are valued, you are the future of these lands and I am sure you will be the greatest King in the world," I attempted to brighten the cub's spirits, but I would have to try harder than this.

"You're just saying that. You barely even know me," Simba said, and his words threatened to pierce my heart. He was the bearer of the truth. I didn't know his favourite food, colour, game; anything. Yet he trusted me enough to reveal his problems, even now.

"You know and trust me enough to let me help you," I said. "Simba, you are cared for, by your parents, by Nala, and..."

Do I say it? Even if I say it, will it be true? Is this connection love?

"And you are cared for by me." Yes. I know it in my heart, I love Simba. He reminds me of my brother...and myself.

"You care for me?" he questioned. How could a human care for a lion who he has known for less than a week?

"Yes, I feel happy when I am around you, I feel comfortable, I feel I can tell you my secrets," I listed.

Unseen by my eyes, Sarabi was witnessing the conversation between me and Simba, whose nose twitched, and he gasped in elation. He walked carefully in the direction of where and who the scent came from; Mufasa. He nuzzled his mate and then his son, and then he questioned why he had a bandage on his paw.

"Simba was bitten by a snake, and it was Alex who thought quickly and rushed him to Rafiki's tree," Sarabi told her husband. Mufasa stared at me with an open smile on his face, and as he approached me, my natural instinct told me to get the hell away. I don't know why I still possessed that instinct. Perhaps it is a part of human nature because it has been with the species since beyond the days of 'Lucy', the first hominid to stand upright.

Before I could move any further, Mufasa wrapped one of his enormous paws around me, and pulled me closer to his body, squeezing my ribs and holding my arms firmly against my flanks.

"Thank you, great Guardian," Mufasa exclaimed. "Thank you in the name of all things that are sacred," Mufasa continued. I could tell that what I said was right. Simba was valued, more valued than the metal that shares the colour of his pelt.

"Please, call me 'Alex'," I requested. "It was the least I could do, even if I wasn't the Guardian," I reaffirmed.

Mufasa's broad smile turned into a grateful sigh. He returned to his family, as I walk towards the edge of the promontory that jutted from Pride Rock. I sat down on the edge and contemplated what my father was doing, and so with Lewis. _I wonder how Brexit will turn out._ I gaze in awe at the majestic savannah, and all its inhabitants dotted around the landscape. I flinched as something tapped my shoulder; the paw of Simba.

"Speak of your arrival, next time," I chuckled.

"Alex, Mom and Dad want to talk with you," Simba said, with an awfully broad grin that told excitement and hope. I swung my legs onto the rock and lifted myself up. I walk towards the King and Queen with a respectful stride, and they invited to come closer than I would usually.

"Alex, my family have agreed on something, and we would like to hear your thoughts," Mufasa wondered.

"What would you say if we wanted to adopt you as our son?"

 **A/N: There we go. It happens in nearly every 'human in Lion King universe' story, so here it is. Mufasa asking Alex to be his son. As always, tell me what I did well and what I didn't do so well with. Please, I appreciate the 'Good chapter' reviews, but to be honest, I would rather a negative review that helps me improve than a positive. I mean, positive reviews are nice, but they don't always help.**

 **Even if you think my writing cannot be improved, at least be specific on what you liked about this chapter.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Let's see how Alex responds to the question, and how long will it take for him to decide?**

I stand there in absolute and utter shock. For reasons as follows; a lion has asked a human to be his son. My sceptical mind would dismiss as some sort of weird person's character ship or fan fiction. However, my enlightened mind realised that this has happened before. Edward was asked by Kiburi to be his son.

"Can you run that by me again?" I request. I need to know that this isn't a dream or a prank. Is this really taking place? Are the King and Queen really asking a human who arrived less than a week prior this sacred question? I mean, for someone to ask you to be their adopted son is a pretty solid indicator that they care for you, but I wonder if this is a token of gratitude instead of love. Yet, Simba just told me that he wanted a brother. Did that influence their decision? I don't know, but I've taken too long to say anything. I try to find non-disappointing words, and find them I do. I raise my hands as I gift my thoughts and emotions some gestures.

"I really appreciate the offer," I said, but I shouldn't have paused. A cloud of fear passed over their faces. They really want me to be their son this much?

"I'll think about it, I mean, I barely know you guys," I spoke. Mufasa nodded in understanding.

"Return that question by the end of the day, and I'm sure to have an answer," I added.

"Hey, Alex!" Simba piped up, and I looked down on the cub.

"What is it?" I asked. Simba's face shone with excitement.

"How 'bout we walk around the Pride Lands together? We'll be sure to bond, and you'll learn about the land you will defend," Simba suggested.

"That's not a bad idea," Sarabi said.

"Alright then, it's settled," Mufasa declared, and we all left Pride Rock, with Simba sitting on Mufasa, and rounded Pride Rock before we continued north.

"If you don't mind me asking, Alex, where did you dwell before you came here?" Mufasa asked. I would later learn that he was fascinated with visitors from distant lands and their ways of life.

"Do not worry yourself. I used to live in a land called England; it is where over fifty million humans also call home, and proudly so, for England is one of the most important countries on Earth for the inventions its people crafted and they were exported all over the globe. More specifically, I come from a city called London.

A city is an enormous community where humans live and work, and no longer do we hunt food, but we buy it with money. It would be like...uh, exchanging antelope for gold,"

I explained. I remember my pride at being English, for its long history shaped the modern world, it was the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.

"Fascinating..." Sarabi commented.

"So...what's your favourite game, Alex?" Simba asked.

"It's a game called 'football', or 'soccer'. It's where eleven people each on two teams try to put a leather ball into a goal, it's quite fun actually, and when played right, it is beautiful," I reminisced my short football career, when I was on the books at Chelsea F.C. However, they had a reputation of loaning their young players, which was a risky move because it could either go well or not so well. In my case, it could have gone better, and the manager at the time, José Mourinho, decided that I was inadequate. So I decided to focus my time on university instead.

"Incredible...you humans are incredible," Mufasa gasped. He had never come across a species that could do so many different things.

By the time the conversation had ended, we came across two tall stacks of rock, and everyone paused.

"Well, we reached the border, we should go...this way," Mufasa decided, pointing to our left.

"But Mufasa, that is the direction of the Elephant Graveyard, and...well, you know which foul race dwells there," I heard Sarabi whisper.

"Relax, my love; the hyenas have been silent for months," Mufasa replied. Sarabi sighed in defeat.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt if we went north, for there Alex will find the Great Eastern Ridge, where many herds dwell. It is a case of safety by danger," Sarabi declared.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help but notice what you were speaking of. Whom lives at this graveyard?" I ask.

"Hyenas," Sarabi bluntly said with disgust evident in her voice.

"Oh, right," I replied sheepishly.

"You must never go there, like, even if someone dared you to go there, it would be wise to say 'no'," Simba said.

A short time divided the two conversations. I started the second one with a question.

"Mufasa, how long have you been King for?"

"I, Mufasa, High King of the Pride Lands, Lord of Kiburi, have held dominion of this land for 60 moons," he replied.

"Five years..." I said, and nodded my head, thinking it was a decent length of time, even for a lion.

"Do you ever have challengers to the throne?" I ask.

"No, not really," Mufasa responded, to my surprise. "The Pride Lands is such a huge territory, and all lions know only those who have been raised in royalty can rule the Pride Lands, be they born hither or a thousand miles away," the King explained.

As Mufasa was explaining the eligibility of the throne of the Pride Lands, Sarabi paused in her tracks. She sniffed the air, and a disdain I had seen on no other face formed on her face.

"Mom, what's the matter?" Simba asked, a fear growing in his heart like the pain he endured earlier that day.

"Hyenas," Sarabi growled. Mufasa developed a pensive frown above his wise eyes, and he was about to tell Sarabi to return to Pride Rock, but he debated whether or not his family would be safer together. Instead, he instructed Sarabi to hold fast a defensive pose facing the sound of the yips and cackles of the hyenas. Mufasa told his son to stay close to me, and soon enough, the hyenas revealed themselves, coming from a forest beneath a clouded sky.

"Let's show these dogs that they have made a grave mistake," Sarabi encouraged and growled when the hyenas charged with lethal intentions. Those hyenas sure are brave, or stupid enough to attack the Royal Family in their own territory.

"Simba, whatever happens, you have to stay with me," I ordered the cub. He nodded firmly and huddled behind my legs.

As the hyenas got closer by the second, the fear of death and failure grew with every passing moment. About five hyenas surrounded Mufasa and Sarabi, while another two prowled menacingly towards me and Simba. I tried to put on a mean face and intimidate them, but it was futile. Even though they looked at me like a was some sort of alien, which I couldn't blame them for, they did not seem afraid of me. I had to do _something,_ but I knew that I must not run, nor turn my back against them. That would be the death of me. A strange noise came from my arm, and as I stare at my wrist, a band of steel materialised and wrapped around my arm, and a large circle seemed to draw itself into existence, and a dark metal filled the gap. However, with every second that passed, the object grew heavier, and heavier, until I could not stand straight, nor stand at all. I fell into the shield, the edge of which dug into my upper arm. Seeing that I was currently harmless and a waste of effort, the hyenas turned to Simba.

No...they would not touch him, by my bloodline and forebears, and in the name of all Guardians before me, I used all the strength a human could possibly muster, with adrenaline fuelling my determination, as I smack my shield into the hyena, and it collapsed to the floor, unconscious, but the weight and momentum caused me to stumble over my own feet, and I landed on my back, and that meant...oh, SHIT!

"Argh, fuck's sake!" I said through gritted teeth as the shield that must have weighed about fifty kilograms landed on me, rendering me immobile and so useless. I call for Simba, but he was still being forced to retreat. I chanced a look at Mufasa and Sarabi, and there was a lifeless hyena next to Mufasa, who was clawing and swiping at a hyena. All of them had a dirty, grey pelt plagued with black markings, and an ugly perpetual snarl was their favourite expression it seemed, especially when facing their enemies.

"Simba! Get under my shield!" I commanded the cub, and as he rushed towards and dived under the shield, the hyena licked his heels and stopped short of bumping into it. Simba cowers next to me, with his head covered with his paws. He squealed when the hyena started to scratch at and attempt to remove the shield, but he saw my feet, and I he decided that if he couldn't kill me or Simba, he would cause as much pain. Try as I might, I could not move my body, not even tuck my feet inside the shield, because it only covered my torso. I almost whimper in fear before I feel a great pain in my ankles, as the hyena latches onto my feet, I cannot do anything but yell in utter pain.

"ARGH! CUNTING MOTHERFUCKERS!" I paid no attention to what I said. It didn't really concern me that Simba had never heard such profanity, but the cub saw how much agony I was enduring, and he hated it.

'I have to do something,' Simba decided. Simba felt so helpless, and then he searched through his terrified thoughts and emotions, and eventually found courage, but it was ignited by hate and sorrow, but nonetheless, he escaped the shield and charged at the hyena, clawing and biting at the poacher, and I try to look at the damage the hyena caused to my legs.

"Stupid shield, more harm than good," I claimed, though I now know that it saved the lives of me and Simba. I wouldn't know how to use a shield to its full effect anyway.

I can only see Mufasa and Sarabi, but they have finished disposing of their hyenas. The hyena that Simba attacked manages to shake him off, and I couldn't watch as he approached the cub menacingly, but thank the stars that Mufasa pounced on the hyena

"Who sent you to attack us?" he asked the hyena, but then a frothy liquid came from its mouth. _Damn!_

"He must have consumed some sort of poison so he couldn't leak the culprit," Sarabi deduced.

"When I find out who did this, when I find the bastard who ordered an attack on my family, I will not be held responsible for what I would do for them," Mufasa promised in a low, deadly tone. Mufasa managed to remove the shield that prevented my vital organs from being damaged.

"I'll help you in that, Mufasa, I'll do whatever I can," I promised both Mufasa and myself.

"Thank you, Alex. Thank you, for saving my son's life," he voiced his gratitude.

"That was amazing Simba, you were so brave," I complimented the cub.

"It was the least I could do," Simba said, and I chuckled at the fact that he used my words from earlier.

"That looks really painful," Mufasa commented.

"You can say that again," I sighed sadly. I had just returned to the practice of walking, and not five hours later, my legs are severely injured. _Fucking typical_ , that is such an analogy for my life.

"Sorry for my choice of words, Simba, don't repeat them if you can help it," I requested. Simba agreed. After I observe everyone's marks of battle, I remember the question Mufasa asked before we set out from Pride Rock.

"Mufasa, to answer your question..." I caught his attention. "Yes, I accept your offer, I will be your adopted son."

 **A/N: Wow, that was unexpected! How did Alex conjure that shield? And who approved the hyena attack? Find out in the next chapter. Remember to review constructively. Thank you as ever for reading.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: So, Alex has agreed to be the adopted son of Mufasa and Sarabi. What will come of this? Love, hope and prosperity, or hate, despair and tragedy?**

"Really?" Mufasa's face lit up with excitement and pride.

"That's the most wonderful news!" Sarabi said in her graceful voice filled with elation.

"Welcome to the family...big brother," Simba said. I smiled lovingly at my new adoptive brother as I stroke his head and decide to kiss him.

"Before celebrations are in order, we should get you to Rafiki's tree," Mufasa said.

"Yep, that would be appropriate," I agreed. I noticed that the shield disintegrated and turned to dust that was carried away by the wind that stung my wounds.  
Yet again, I swing my leg around Mufasa, who was lying on his stomach, in slow motion, but that doesn't stop me seething in pain. I study the bite marks that tore through my skin and exposed my flesh to the elements. I grimaced as I saw my ligaments, tendons and muscle twitch. Blood is still pouring from the open wound. I just hope to God that Rafiki can mend them. I'm still bearing the marks from the plane crash. Scratches still skirt the side of my face, from near my right eye to my right cheek, thin scabs were remarkably the only fault on the skin on my face, safe for the residue of fear-induced sweat.

"That looks nasty," Simba commentated. I had to stop myself from making a malicious sarcastic response. He is but a child, after all.

"I am so proud of you, Simba, while what you did was reckless, you saved Alex's legs from further damage," Mufasa congratulated. Simba looked away in modesty.

"He's my brother now, I would do anything to keep him from harm," he said. I smiled at his courage and love for me.

"And I'm the one whose supposed to look after you!" I chuckled, and everyone laughed merrily. However, my vision started to get blurry, and my mind was clouded.

"Oh, I don't feel so good," I groaned. Sarabi looked at me and gasped with utter shock.

"Oh, my! You look as pale as the moon," she stated.

"Yeah, you look like the white of a zebra," Simba added. Mufasa decided to gradually accelerate, and I recalled memories of riding horses in my grandparents'  
acres of land they owned in Berkshire, one of the Home Counties, west of London. These memories continue into my dreams when my face planted itself into Mufasa's thick mane, and everything that was said after, I could not hear, nor could I feel the air stinging my wounds. Was I dead? No, I still felt my unending heartbeat.

"Uh, Alex?" Simba had asked, noticing my sudden silence. He saw that my head was planted in Mufasa's mane, and so Simba called on his father to accelerate further.  
When Mufasa did as thus, my body shook with Mufasa's strides, and I was in danger of falling from my steed. Sarabi kept to the hind of Mufasa just in case I did fall off.

"Dad?" Simba asked with heavy breath.

"Uh-huh?" Mufasa replied. His pace of stride and heartbeat was beyond simple murmurs.

"How did Alex conjure that shield?" Simba asked. He remembered that the shield formed before his very eyes, it created itself just before the hyenas could attack us. Simba tried to suppress a giggle when he recalled me falling into the shield. He knew he shouldn't laugh because it caused them both peril, but seeing my lanky legs dangle in the air amused him.

"I'm not entirely sure," Mufasa said, as he sighed briefly when Rafiki's tree came unto his eyes. "I have a feeling that Rafiki will have an answer to your question."

"You're right," Simba replied. "He knows everything!" the cub exclaimed.

* * *

I could hear the soft sounds of leaves blowing in the wind and rustling against fellow leaves, and then my ears re-discovered the sounds of gourds and other hollow fruits clashing against each other like a wind chime. I knew I was in Rafiki's tree, but the light was such that my eyes could not take in any at all. The pain in my legs reach my attention, and I groan in pain and exasperation. Not this again. I didn't like people having to do things for me, it felt like fate had temporarily stolen my independence. Should I expect more of this?

I then hear the sound of scraping. Scraping against some severely concave object, I might add. Who else would be able to use their hands in such a way?

"Rafiki?" I am finally able to open my eyes, and I see the vines hanging from above, and the Pride Lands beyond that thick foliage. It brought to my heart comfort.  
This place is where I will abide for the rest of my life. This is my home.

"Drink dis," he commanded, and I held out my hand and felt the bristles of a coconut. I use my other hand to judge the position of my lips. I bring the coconut ever closer to my mouth and as I tip the coconut into my mouth, the contents reached my tongue, and my eyes shot open as I spat the horrid substance out of my mouth,  
but in the corner of my eye, I see a hand of Rafiki's rise, and all the saliva and...well, whatever the fuck was in that coconut that was still in the air, swiftly come back into my mouth, and the force of which pushed me against the wall. I cough hard enough to feel my lungs, and still, there are bits of that disgusting broth stuck in my teeth.

"What the fuck was that?" I ask, tears triggered by my coughing fit stream down my face.

"First of all, no profanity in Rafiki's presence!" he said as if he were the third person.

"Well, what do you expect when you ram that sh-shah, shah-stuff in my mouth against my will?" I question with my hands gesturing violently, conveying my anger at the mandrill.

"Secondly, it was gourd juice, honey, melon and banana," Rafiki listed the ingredients of that vile crap. Take that, you can't punish me for my thoughts, Rafiki!

"Thirdly, we must get as much healing liquid in you as possible," Rafiki added.

'Would some antibiotics not suffice?' I jokingly thought.

"I suppose we'll have to cancel the combat practice," I said.

"Dat does not mean we have other uses of dat appointment, for you are filled with natural anaesthetic," Rafiki revealed. He anaesthetised me? Without my permission?  
Well, I suppose I couldn't really say a lot while I was unconscious anyway.

"I've been wondering," I catch the mandrills attention. "A black shield crafted itself when we thought the hyenas," I recalled.

"Ah, yes. Dis," Rafiki said as he walked over to the other side of the tree. "Dis is de Shield of de Guardian," he says. What the hell? He's carrying it as if it is nothing! Well, him being a wizard and all...

"You are not yet ready to master de powers of de shield," he said. As if I had to guess why it weighs a tonne for me. Even my weekly visits to my local gym would not prepare me for the sheer weight of the shield.

"What are those powers, exactly?" I inquire.

"Dis shield can deflect and absorb all impacts, from an animal charging at it, to lightning striking it, and de weight is necessary, otherwise you won't be doing many decapitations or head squashing with a light shield," he said to my astonishment.

"Holy shit," I utter under my breath unintentionally.

"No swearing!" Rafiki shouted, pointing his long, fleshless finger firmly at me. We were disturbed by the signal of the elevator-like contraption. Rafiki placed the shield gently against the central trunk of the tree, and as he walked towards the elevator to wind up the platform, I swore I could see the outline of a tree engraved into the shield. The branches were curved, with a central trunk as straight as a Roman road.

"Has Alex awaken?" an excited voice caught my attention, and a smile graced my face, for I knew the voice belonged to Simba, my new brother. It feels so weird to say that, yet it feels so right.

"Yes, and I see you have brought your friend," Rafiki said.

"Hello, Mr Rafiki," a feminine voice greeted. It was Nala.

"Good day, Miss Nala," Rafiki returned the formal greeting.

"Alex!" Simba cried in rejoice. He ran over to where I was sitting and skidded to halt, to my amusement. Is there no limit to this cub's energy?

"Alex, I have the best news!" Simba exclaimed. His eyes were filled with joy and elation.

"What news do you have to tell me?" I asked. He was so hyperactive, I could barely decipher his accelerated speech.

"Because Dad adopted you, he officially made you a Prince! You are the second in line to the throne!" he announced.

* * *

"YOU USELESS FOOLS!" a dry voice erupted from the mouth of a furious lion as he swatted a fragile hyena skull and it crumbled to dust upon impact. The hyena minions of this lion, pelted with rusty orange fur and a cream underbelly, cowered behind their paws. The emerald eyes of the lion staring into their souls.

"Not even when they are alone, vulnerable, defenceless, can you dispose of the King and Queen!" the lion ridiculed.

"And their cub," a hyena corrected, but it was their greatest mistake, and last error they would ever make, for the lion promptly slit the throat, with blood squirting over the floor of the dark cave that the lion resided in. Even the light feeding the cave was dull, for they were in the Elephant Graveyard, a crater covered with a perpetual shadow.

"I am seriously considering using the jackals, or even the wild dogs, ANYONE would be more efficient than you," the lion threatened.

"Scar...my lord, please...I beg thee, gift us one last chance, and if we fail in that, you have the right to kill us and end our suffering" a female hyena promised.

Scar, as the lion was known, nodded his head. They hated being threatened with death, so they must be serious in what they say. He brought an unsheathed claw to the female hyena's throat.

"One. Last. Chance. I have a grand idea, for a grand death, for a grand King."

 **A/N: Oh, dear, Scar is an angry puddy cat, and what would this 'grand idea' be? This doesn't look good. The hyenas must be serious if they would let Scar kill them if they fail! Find out what Alex's reaction to the news that he is a Prince is in the next chapter! As always, constructive criticism is appreciated and thank you for reading.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Another chapter. I have returned from my pilgrimage to the Lyceum Theatre and there, I enjoyed the epicness of The Lion King musical. Here is my review: It. Was. Awesome. A tiny bit short, but I am glad beyond all gladness that I could watch it with my own eyes.**

The night was welcomed by my exhausted mind, and I had no difficulty in falling asleep. Simba and Nala had spoken to me about my new adoptive father having anointed me as a prince, and I had trouble believing what I was hearing. What I thought was impossible and fantastical was quickly unwinding into the realms of possibility. What's next? I do not think I could imagine anymore, I decided to take my fate as it happened, and make the most of what honours and luxuries I am bestowed and enjoy adventures that I am to embark.

Simba and Nala decided to sleep in Rafiki's tree next to me, and as Rafiki had fetched permission from both cubs' parents, Simba told me about how he finally told Nala about his love for her, and the former best friends were star-crossed lovers, their bond was stronger than the pillars beneath the shallow earth, and Simba's tales he told his future mate concerning the kings of old were the last words I heard that day, for I quickly fell into a deep slumber, and nothing could wake me...or so I thought.

* * *

 _BEEP BEEP BEEP_

The droning sound of my iPad alarm made me flinch in surprise. Was this a dream? Yes. I sigh as I look at my slender wrists and small hands. I was fourteen years old, and I remember this date. 14th August 2009, it was a few weeks after my usual summer vacation in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and I had promised one of my best friends, Isaac Nkosi, that we would spend this day together, for it was his fourteenth birthday, and he had recently signed on to the Chelsea F.C. Youth Academy, and was perhaps the best player in my year group at school. I had known him since Year 2, and I was one of the first people who became friends with him at primary school. We both lived on the South Bank of the Thames, but in London, fortunes can change with the block. I lived in a three-storey terrace house, but Isaac lived on the sixth floor of a tower block, also in Southwark. We did whatever we could do together, for we always looked after each other when one of us was having a bad day, and we always made each other content. However, Isaac's father, Michael, once a loving, family man, had turned to alcohol and drug dealing when he was made redundant from his job, and it was not uncommon that I saw the marks of violence on Isaac's face and his academic and physical performance declined. I promised to take him on a day trip to the 'other bank', we would go to the grand buildings of the Natural History and Science Museums, and even a simple meal at McDonald's drew pleasure from my old friend.

The day went as I am about to tell. I had finished my paper round and did my morning chores, and at 9:00 am, I went to his tower block to collect him. I wondered which Isaac I would come across; the curious, adventurous and extroverted (and slightly obnoxious) personality that always made me smile, or the broken, bruised and silent boy who suffered hatred and racism. If I had the power, I would take him and his mother from their hopeless life and give them the chance to experience the best that fate can offer, but I didn't work for the council, I wasn't some sort of charity worker, nor was I a miracle worker. I was just a child, and even then, it broke my heart to see my friend suffer.

On that day, we went to the free museums of science, walked along the embankment of the Thames, took pictures of each other standing beneath landmarks such as Tower Bridge and the London Eye. I saw in Isaac's eyes pure happiness. I guessed that he hadn't had a day like this in years, a day in which he could immerse himself in the history,  
heritage and culture of the greatest city on Earth. His face darkened with the sun as it passed beyond the towers of the west, and we trudged along London Bridge, returning to the Borough of Southwark. I had never imagined an eventuality such as the one that greeted me and Isaac when I escorted him to his apartment. I heard raised voices including profanity and words of hate and mockery, and then my heart skipped a beat when I heard Mrs Nkosi yell these words:

"Put that gun down!"

I looked at Isaac, whose face told panic and fear. We gasped at the sounds of heavy knocks as the couple must have been duelling to claim possession of the apparent gun. I flinched when the unlocked door almost fell off its hinges as the husband and wife reached for hands and faces, anything to stop violence, but time seemed to decelerate exponentially when the gun was pointed in the direction of my chest...

 _BANG_

A sharp sound pierced the growls of the two adults as I clamped my own eyes. Expecting a dark red liquid to stain my white shirt, I opened my eyes when my sensory nerves couldn't detect such a substance, nor a hole, and then I saw Isaac on the floor, holding his own chest. I gasped in realisation. Isaac jumped in front of the path of the stray bullet. He sacrificed himself so I could live. At the time, I could not figure whether he saw this as a way out, or as a token of gratitude for giving him one moment of happiness, but I saw Michael panic and rush downstairs. Coward.

I placed Isaac in the recovery position and saw where the bullet hole was located, in his right lung. He looked at me with tears of sorrow and pain, his eyes glistening in the light of the rising moon and the amber hue created by the countless streetlights.

"Alex...thank you...for making me happy," he gasped for air. His lungs were filled with blood by the second, I try to stem the flow.

"No, Isaac, you're going to be happy again, you're gonna be the next...Drogba!" I encouraged, trying to remember Chelsea F.C. players. I didn't really like the way they corrupted the integrity of the Premier League, preferring Manchester United's history. Isaac smiled at my words, but his eyes ceased to move, and he died there, in my bloodied hands. I looked up to Mrs Nkosi, whose face was moistened with tears, and held a phone to her ear, ordering an ambulance. I shook my head, and she broke down in sobs.

"NOOOO! My son, my precious, beautiful boy!" she wailed. I too started to cry, and I cradled Isaac's lifeless body in my arms.

"I'm so sorry."

* * *

"What are you sorry for?" an accented voice asked, causing me to flinch as I wake up. I jump in my position and seeth in pain when I saw Rafiki's head up close to my eyes.

"I couldn't save him," I lamented. "I failed to save my friend, he had his life ahead of him, and I could not protect him!" I cursed myself.

"Alex, you cannot save everyone, dat is a lesson every Guardian has learnt, and you are no different," Rafiki replied.

"I did not ask for this, I didn't ask to be something I cannot be," I growled when I noticed that the cubs were still asleep.

"No one asks for life, Alex, but life is what you get, and only those who have purpose are chosen, people who will live life to deir potential, and dose who will help and guide people. De death of your friend was not in vain. You learned dat you cannot save everyone. You are not the judge of fate, you do not command de Circle of Life, and to do so would result in suffering," Rafiki warned. I absorbed his words of wisdom and knew them to be right. If I cannot save everyone, I will save as many as I can.

 **A/N: Wow, that was a sad chapter and a warning to you all. Do not expect too many rainbow chapters in a row, this is a very sad, both in a tragic and beautiful way. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated and thank you for reading.**

 **P.S. If these chapters are short, that is a bad habit of mine. Someday, I hope to be typing 5,000-word chapters every week. Perhaps when I do another renovation of my portfolio, they will happen.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: What's the next thing to happen to Alex? Let's find out together.**

"Good morning, Simba," I greeted my brother as he stretched, and he nuzzled my knees as he returned the greeting. I responded to Simba's act of affection by stroking his head. I felt a finger tap my shoulder, and as I twisted my neck, a gourd bowl moved close to my mouth at a greater pace than I could react, and I gagged at the disgusting taste of the substance that was supposed to make me better. It threatened to provoke the reflex that made me vomit, but I knew that I had to consume as much as possible, as were Rafiki's orders.

"I can tell that doesn't taste nice," Simba observed my facial expression. I raised a thumb to affirm his answer, not wanting to open my mouth, for there was still traces of an urge to vomit.

'Why does everything that's supposed to make me better makes me feel worse?' I question myself. I noticed that Simba's paws were no longer gloved with the green leaves and that his wound was healing nicely. My legs were still burdening my peace with pain, and I predicted that the dressing would have to be changed. I prayed that my wound hadn't become infected. Rafiki, having walked over to the part of the tree where all the herbs, spices and remedies Rafiki crafted and harvested were kept, returned with leaves and gourd juice in his palms.

"It is time to change de dressing," Rafiki announced, and even though I knew it was coming, I sighed anxiously.

"Don't cause me too much grief," I requested. Rafiki cocked his brow.

"Alex, I have been doing dis for years, I know what I am doing," he professed, and as he unravelled the leaves that wrapped around my damaged ankles, Simba giggled at my gritted teeth and eyes having rolled into my head, it provided amusement to the cub, and the sound of his laughter provided some sort of anaesthetic to the pain of dead skin and flesh peeling from my lower legs with the sticky leaves. My growls of pain caused Simba to howl in laughter, and I saw Nala depart from her sleep, and she too failed to contain her laughter at my pain.

"Good morning, Simba," Nala greeted her boyfriend, and they nuzzled affectionately. I had never seen such love between such young lions, so I knew their love to be true.

"Did you sleep well?" Simba asked as they reluctantly paused the nuzzling. She nodded, claiming it to be her best sleep for many moons, for she spent her sleep next to her true love. I bore a smile of pride in my new brother. Would it be just to claim responsibility for this love? I prompted Simba to tell Nala of his love for her,  
and he did as thus. I seethed in pain as Rafiki massaged my ankle with the gourd juice applied to encourage healing and prevent infection. He wrapped the new leaves around my leg, three times over, and told me to stay off my swollen feet for another day.

"However, we can use dis time to train your mind to resist whatever evil enters it, be it grief, temptation, sorrow, or hatred," Rafiki suggested. I suppose it would be a better use of time than sitting on my ass and being a waste of space until I can return to action. This better not be a recurring thing, me recovering from an injury,  
only to hurt myself as soon as I return to active service.

"What shall we start with?" I ask. If this means that I can be a better person, and so serve the Pride Lands more efficiently and to the best of my expanding ability,  
then I shall not hesitate.

"We shall start with what you fear, and what you hate, and what tempts you," Rafiki said. Fair enough, we might as well get to the source of my weakness.

"De first subject is de matter of your past, de dreams of unfriendly memories dat plague your recent sleep," the mandrill said. I nodded in understanding.

"So, why do I have these dreams?" I ask Rafiki, almost expecting a solution to them.

"Dey are a herald of your time as de Guardian. You are charged with de defence of dis land, and you will endure all tragedies as if dey are your own," Rafiki replied.

"Oh, I get it, but...why am I the one to endure, why was I chosen, out of seven billion other people, what makes me special?" I question.

"Because you, after everything you have lost, after everything you have suffered and enjoyed, have stayed on de path of righteousness, you have remembered what is right,  
you have remained humble, selfless, courageous and all dat is good. However, for every good ding you possess, dere are traits of darkness. You are not immune to taking dings for granted, so you were stripped of everything you have ever loved, so you can learn what it means to suffer and enjoy, for de culture of humans is greedy, dey lust for power and luxury," Rafiki spoke of the nature of humans, how they can be power hungry and effortlessly corrupted.

In my heart, I felt a pulse of bitterness towards whoever decided my fate. The Kings of the Past? Aiehu himself? I decide that I am a greater person than such emotions towards a deity. I have to suck it up and do what I must and make the most of what I have and what I shall gain from this experience, be it joy or grief. I have a duty to protect the Pride Lands, and any other human would most likely be killed in the plane, never mind surviving the injuries I sustained without external assistance.  
As Rafiki said, I should be more grateful that I was born in this world, and that I was born into a loving family, but now I understand that luxuries do not make your life easier, they distract you from what is the true ingredient to content: love.

"I am enlightened, Rafiki, and for that, I thank thee," I professed my gratitude to the mandrill, but Rafiki waved it off.

"You call dat enlightenment? You do not yet know how to control your feelings, or how to conquer your power," Rafiki said. He was correct once more, and I admired Rafiki's wisdom. I attempted to prepare my mind to comprehend the task at hand, and I look at Simba and Nala nibbling at each other's ears, pawing at one another's faces, observing their facial structures and slightly muscular body frames, a world apart from my slender, slight feline frame of my old pet cat.  
I crafting memories of their cub form, for I will see Simba and Nala grow from curious cubs to the King and Queen of the Pride Lands. Isn't time a bitch?

"Let us start with your mental strength. I will trigger a psychedelic sequence, and you will attempt to resist," Rafiki warned.

"Come again? I'm not even ready!" I replied. How could Rafiki think that I could defend my weakened mind against a freaking wizard?

"Alex, you will be amazed at the capabilities of de most advanced and efficient brain in de animal kingdom, you can do what you dink is impossible if you can believe,  
but right now, it seems dat you dink even belief is impossible, so dat is your first task," Rafiki informed me.

I guessed that he would instruct me to clear my mind, so I did just that. I inhaled the thick, leafy air that constricted my chest, and I couldn't contain the urge to cough. Rafiki sighed in disappointment.

"Alex, you can't just empty your mind, you have to remove yourself from your surroundings and your own body," Rafiki said, and I nodded.

Again, I removed any thought from my mind, and ignored the air moving past my face, and discounting the touch of leaves against my pained ankles, and then I felt nothing more than my body leaving the mortal realm, and all sounds gone. I wouldn't know that my body slumped onto the floor in Rafiki's Tree, and Simba and Nala inspected my motionless body.

"What happened, Rafiki?" Nala asked, fearing for my welfare.

"Can we prank him?" the mischievous Simba requested.

"If you must, do what you wish, he won't feel it."

 **A/N: What the hell happened to Alex? And what will Simba do to him? Find out in the next chapter, and don't forget to review with constructive criticism, and as always, thank you for reading.**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Let's find out what happened to Alex. What will happen to him while he is out?**

I felt my eyes open, but I was still surrounded by darkness and silence. I felt no wind, and it made me nervous.

'What is this abyss I have come across?' I wonder. Is it a timeless void that reaches far beyond the borders of the ever expanding universe? Or a simulation of my peaceful mind...a dream? Is this how dreams are born from the mind when you are at content during slumber?

I was startled by empty noises meeting my ears, and they eventually grew in mass and became whispers carried by a wind that surrounds me but does not meet my body. It wasn't possible to discern any words that the delicate voices spoke. I could not tell what tongue they spoke, but then as I turned to an unknown direction, having lost my bearings the moment my eyes opened, I saw a speck of light at a distance I could not tell. It could be a great sphere a mile from me, or it could not be as deceiving as I perceived it to be, and as I extend my arm, I gasp in both confusion and awe as the white light turns red.

"What is this devilry?" my mouth moved to these words, but I could not hear my deep voice, not even feel the chords in my throat move.

"Earn the truth," I heard a small voice command. I remember that these were Rafiki's words from yesterday. Goodness, it feels like the three days I have come to think I have lived here have been stretched to a whole week. Who knows how long I was passed out for after I had escaped the plane wreck?

Alas, how would I earn the truth? Complete a task? Great or small, I believe that I am prepared to be patient and complete it, but how can I be so sure? I don't even know how I must acquire this 'truth'.

The whispers whirling around my head like a tornado decelerate in speed, and to my concern, the dark floor that I feel beneath my feet rumbled tremendously, and silent yet overwhelming explosions either side of me bombarded the empty void and take away my ability to stand, and I fall onto my back, and before my eyes, stone columns quickly fill the unseen gaps caused by the explosions, and I hear shrieks of horror, the terrified voices of men, women and children, and droning sirens of emergency vehicles.

I look up at the rising columns of white stone, and to my utter amazement, as they cease to rise, they branch and connect with other columns to form a magnificent ceiling, and then I realise what has formed before my eyes: Westminster Abbey. My eyes are drawn down the transept, and then the nave, and when my sight includes the interior of the Gothic entrance, and the light of what I assumed was the sun shone through the great windows of stained glass, but beyond my expectation was that the light moved around the abbey at a great speed, its orbit was parallel to the dull light of the moon, and in the choir, faceless cloaked children and men sang gracefully, but their voices, accompanied by the sounds of wind instruments, grew only louder, and the sun and the moon span around the abbey ever faster, making me loose my comprehension of what was going on. The volume of the voices began to cause my ears the pain I would get by excessively loud headphones. The sirens and screams whirred in my head like a mental hurricane, and my legs, which were healed in this unimaginable sequence, broke down in pain, as I clawed at my cranium in utter frustration.  
I wanted it all to stop, and in a climax of anger, pain and sorrow, all caused by...the terror attack, I yelled in pure fury and some type of energy pulsed from my outstretched arms and quicker than I could realise my epiphany. The energy caused a shockwave that destroyed the glass set between the stone, and the Abbey condensed into the small light. It was once again a friendly colour, and I collapsed in exhaustion.

* * *

I gasped as I took in the thick air, and my eyes stung at the sudden bright light. I then feel my skin with my fingers, and I recoiled my digits when I detected a sticky substance, and when I'm finally able to open my eyes, I saw a smudge of an orange substance on my fingers.

"What the f...effing hell happened? And what's on my face?" I demand of Rafiki, who I knew was still in the vicinity despite not being able to catch sight of him as his cackling filled the air like the clouds filled the blue sky. A storm was impending, and I predicted that Simba and Nala had departed by the order of their respective parents. Rafiki jumped down from a higher branch of his tree, cackling as was expected of him.

"He lives!" he exclaimed, causing me to drop my jaw. There was a chance that I could have died during that episode?

"I could have died?" I questioned the mandrill.

"No, not really. Only joking," Rafiki laughed.

"What happened to me? I fell into unconsciousness, and now I have this muck on my face," I said, showing Rafiki the tangerine coloured mask on my face. He handed me a gourd bowl of water, and my reflection told that my face was plastered in the gourd juice. On the left half of my face, it was applied gracefully and consistently but the other side was a shambles. It was lumpy and inconsistent.

"Oh, de cubs decided to 'prank' you, and dere's no harm in dat, is dere?" Rafiki revealed, and I suppose he is right. It's nice to have a bit of fun. I assumed that Nala applied the gourd juice on the left side of my face. I used the water to wash away the juice.

"Why did I have that vision?" I asked Rafiki as I cleansed my face.

"To earn de truth, Alex, you must conquer your emotions. As I said, you will share de grief of de Pride Lands as if it is your own, and so you must learn to control your emotions, otherwise, de actions in your visions will come to pass. You will be a destructive yet vulnerable force, and other people will seek to use you for dat,"  
Rafiki sensically said.

"To clear your mind is to clear your conscience and suffering," Rafiki added.

"Why do I need to clear my conscience?" I question the mandrill. I have done no harm, and what about this good nature I was chosen for?

"Your conscience has been damaged by de actions of other people, but it is de power of love dat clears de mist of evil, like rain cleansing the blood in de earth,  
love will always triumph because to do evil is to suffer," Rafiki said. I'm starting to get tired of his quotes of wisdom and truth. I agree with them, but can he not speak as a friend? It's a bit disengaging when he is but a teacher, I want to respect him as a friend also.

"A storm is coming," I said both meteorologically, and metaphorically. "I pity the cubs, they know nothing of the evil that will come to pass."

* * *

"Okay, Scar, why have you brought unto us...a ball?" Shenzi asked. In front of her was a sphere of glass, a device used by the Kings of Old to communicate from long distances.

"This is a Seeing Stone, Shenzi," Scar answered the curious hyena. "It is an ancient tool that has helped bind together distant prides of the Fellowship of Aiehu,"  
Scar continued. Shenzi cocked a brow.

"But Scar, I thought you did not believe in such a thing?" Shenzi questioned, and Scar's response was a sigh as heavy as the mist that protected them from the fiery heat of the afternoon sun. A debate played inside his head. Should he tell the hyena his greatest and darkest secret? It was illegal to believe what he did, but he cared not for the laws of the Pride Lands. He would be the protector of his own laws, no one would stop him when he would remove his brother and nephew from existence...apart from the human. Then again, the human had only just arrived in the Pride Lands, and his training would be young, yet he was able to hold his own against the foolish hyenas. He then remembered the secret, darker than any soon deed he would commit.

"Shenzi, you must tell no other soul my secret, you are the matriarch of the Elephant Graveyard Pack, and so my most trustworthy hyena and friend..." Scar inhaled,  
finally ready to commence the foul sentence.

"I am a follower of Ibilisi, and it is my intention to bring him back to the Earth, from the Timeless Void."

 **A/N: Okay, forgive the short parts of these chapters I dedicate to Scar. I will explore them more often in the next few chapters. Also, what does this mean for the Pride Lands? Will Scar succeed in his motivations? As always, constructive criticism is greatly appreciated and thank you for reading.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Let's calm things down. Let's take a break from the memories and violence.**

Water fell between the gaps of the dense foliage of Rafiki's tree, stray drops of precipitation infiltrating the leaves landed on my hair, which had softened and all traces of chemicals had disappeared. I had greater problems than the state of my hair, and beneath the dark clouds that released the water it held from the mountains, an exasperated sigh escaped my mouth. I was stranded hence with no use of my legs, and still recovering from my experience induced by Rafiki's technique to calm my mind. I knew now that the terror attack had caused all these dreams, and that they are all a herald of the coming years of my stewardship of the Pride Lands.

 _I would share the grief of the Pride Lands as if it is my own._

Rafiki's words plagued my mind, and I imagined how many people close to me would die. I would live long beyond my brother, but I would bond with the future princes and princesses while learning about the ways of those who dwell here. I fear that I may not be able to love like I adore Simba. Would grief eat love away from me like a merciless disease that bore away what is good in my heart? I do not intend to keep any love from anyone who deserves it, but I am not without doubt. Is it possible to lose love?

"Alex?" Rafiki alerted, snapping my daydream in half. I turn my head to lay my eyes on him, for I was lying on a branch near the middle of the tree. The rainwater falling on me was appreciated. It calmed my racing thoughts and provided a respite from the advanced heat. However, it fails to wash away my doubts, they are like a stone in a stream.

"Your mind is troubled," he claimed. I accepted his sudden ability to sense my mind, he was a wizard after all.

"When is it not troubled?" I asked the mandrill.

"You will learn to control your mind, Alex. You have suffered far more dan most people, you have lost, your heart has been broken countless times, but you have remained on the right path. Dat is a good sign dat you will succeed, you never give up," Rafiki complemented, and surprised I was not, he was correct.

A gust of wind caught Rafiki's attention, and a concerned expression was drawn on his face. He jumped up to a branch just above me, and I attempted to track his movements, but he went beyond my ability to turn my neck. I sighed, glaring at the paintings on the trunk of the tree. I decide to take a closer look, marvelling at the detail and vivid colours. I turned my body so I was kneeling, and I pulled my weight across the floor, edging ever closer to the gallery. I look at some sort of diagram, a family tree was my guess, and I observe the countless lines, connections and faces. At the peak of the 'tree' was a lion with a golden pelt, blue eyes and a brown mane, completed with a proud and wise face. This was 'Kiburi', the First King of the First Age of the Pride Lands, and beside his portrait was a small symbol carved gently into the tree. It appeared to be a tree, with the branches arching into the central branch. It was reminiscent of the tree I believed I saw on the shield. Expecting no noise other than the calming sound of rainfall, I flinched at the sound of Rafiki jumping from above.

"Aha, I see you have discovered de line of Kiburi," he said. I put my thumb on the symbol, and felt the dry bark and with my finger, followed the line of Kiburi until it ended at 'Simba'. Above him was the portrait of his father, and beside it was the same symbol as before. Then I realised, it was the symbol of The Guardian!

"What's this symbol?" I enquire, curious for more information.

"Dat is de sign of de Guardian. It is inspired by de great oaks of your old land. In de stewardship of de first Guardian, he found a rare oak tree in de Pride Lands,  
and his touch caused it to turn from brown bark and green leaves to silver and gold," Rafiki revealed.

"Wow..." I gasp in awe. A tree covered in silver bark and leaves of gold? I would love to lay my eyes upon it. "Does it still exist?"

Rafiki's disappointed sigh gave me the direction of the answer. "Many years after de death of de sixth Guardian," Rafiki began. I was the tenth Guardian, the first was Edward, in the eleventh century. "...native humans discovered de tree, and dey cut it down, branch by branch, believing dat it would grant dem great power,  
but instead of dat, dey endured great suffering. A curse is given to anyone who disturbs de sacred tree of de Guardian."

"Its traces, descendants, fragments, dey were spread all over de world, and it is said dat a tree dat was related to de Silver Oak held de wisdom of de previous Guardians, and dere were pilgrimages to de trees until superstitions declined, and de trees were forgotten, and all traces of de Guardian beyond de Pride Lands withered."

"Perhaps it was for the best. I assume you know how my kind conquered a large part of Africa, it was the greatest empire that ever existed, it was the empire which the sun never set," I remembered the alternative name for the British Empire. I was proud that my kin had brought such cultural and technological advancement to all corners of the world. However, I am not blind as to how we conquered the lands, stole them from the people who lived there, and caused suffering to those who survived the invasion.

"Yes, if your people disturbed de Silver Tree, deir kingdom would have fallen," Rafiki informed.

"Are there no sons of the Silver Oak?" I asked, knowing that despite the number of acorns I would find scattered beneath the canopy of an oak forest, very few of them produce the mighty oak.

"Dere is one...a young tree in de middle of a canyon, but it is close to death," Rafiki said.

"Well, let's go rescue it...or do I have to train for that also?" I questioned. Rafiki nodded. I wondered what such a marvellous specimen would look like,  
silver bark shining in the sunlight, and leaves of glimmering gold.

"To give life, you must conquer your fear of death," Rafiki said. I didn't fear death itself, only the suffering that it causes. My heart has been broken many times,  
and it pains me to think that my biological family believes I am dead. I would do anything to see them once more, but I do not need to do that. My family is here,  
in the Pride Lands. Mufasa and Sarabi are my new father and mother, and Simba is my brother. I would give my life to see them happy.

* * *

Katika shimo la upovu,  
Anama uovu usio na utulivu,  
Yeye, zaidi ya ulimwengu,  
Usikilize aya hii,  
Wote wanaomtumikia,  
Utaelezea wimbo wa Giza.

Muda mrefu wa kulipiza kisasi,  
Kuua na kulipiza kisasi,  
Kuvuta na kuua,  
Kuteswa na kuchinjwa,  
Hebu atarudi kutoka bila.

Wote wataisikia wito mkubwa,  
Wote watasema hadithi njema,  
Wote wanaojinga watajivunja na kuvunja,  
Wote ambao wanajitolea watahau historia,  
Ibilisi itarudi.

The lion's dry voice echoed in the cave deprived of all light, and a light came from the empty sphere of glass and marble. A globe of fire enlightened the rust-coloured pelt of Scar, as he recited the dark verse of allegiance to Ibilisi, the destroyer of life, the defiler of death. Scar's greed was so great that he would betray not only his kin, but all life on Earth. He was the catalyst for all followers of Ibilisi, be they lion, hyena, leopard, rhino, elephant or human, to make their allegiance known, and as the fire warmed Scar's cold heart, he grinned as he saw countless faces come together and merge the shape of an eye. The pupil was diablo red, with streaks of orange and yellow, and the centre was an iris as narrow and sharp as a sword.

A voice came from the Seeing Stone, a voice as deep as a canyon, and it rumbled in Scar's chest. "Find me the Guardian, bring him to me. Make sure he suffers before the end, and make sure he is plunged into sorrow and doubt. Make sure he begs for death, and ensure he regrets being born," Ibilisi commanded. Scar bowed at the Seeing Stone,  
and said,

"Salamu Ibilisi."

In an explosion of luminosity, the eye was gone, along with the faces and the deep voice. Scar was left company-less before a wicked spout of laughter filled the cave.  
He rejoiced at the fact that there was almost nothing to stop him from claiming the throne of the Pride Lands. With the wisdom of Ibilisi, his brother stood no chance, and not even that stupid human would stop him. Everyone will be powerless to hinder the efforts of the next King of the Pride Lands, and he will hold dominion over this glorious land once and for all.

"I wonder what's so funny," Banzai wondered aloud, having stood outside the cave where Scar had communicated with Ibilisi.

"Banzai!" the said hyena flinched at the sound of Shenzi calling his name.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!" Banzai replied. He was led by Shenzi to a clearing between the countless mountains of elephants bones, and in the avenues between the mounds,  
thousands of hyenas marched towards Shenzi, the matriarch of the clan. It was now Scar's Army, and the female hyena was about to announce another component of Scar's great plan.

"Friends, comrades! You are summoned hither for I have a great announcement. Our fortunes have turned, our fate has been steered to light, and we will have our vengeance against those who have wronged us!" she spoke, and the response was a loud cry of rejoice and elation. The hyenas chanted Shenzi's name, she had finally found a way to bring them out of this depressing place. They were to prosper once more!

"I call on thee to strengthen, to practice, and to infiltrate the Pride Lands, steal their food and return before they can react," she ordered, and in the spirit of the emotion, they almost immediately charged south, with orders to kill antelope, zabra and impala, to weaken the Pride Lands and gain strength for themselves, and kill all who stood in their way. This time, the hyenas would win.

A/N: Uh-oh, this doesn't look good. What does this mean for the Pride Lands? Will they stop the hyenas? Find out in the next chapter. As always, thank you for reading and don't forget to review with constructive criticism.

PS: Here is the English translation to the verse Scar spoke:

In the abyss of nothingness,  
Lies a restless malice,  
He, beyond the universe,  
Shall heed this verse,  
All those who serve him,  
Will recite the dark hymn.

Long for revenge,  
To kill and avenge,  
To cull and murder,  
To suffer and slaughter,  
May he return from the void.

All will hear the great call,  
All will tell the great story,  
All who defy will bend and break,  
All who surrender will forget history,  
Ibilisi will return.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: How will the pride react to the hyenas infiltrating the Pride Lands and stealing their food? Will Alex heal in time to stop the hyenas? Read on to find out.**

The wind strengthened, blowing the rainwater into the tree, and as the gusts of the angry air increased in strength, I looked beyond the dense leaves blocking the hazy sunlight attempting to breakthrough the shallow clouds. The rain was passing, but the outlier was the sudden increase in the activity of the wind.

"This is very unusual behaviour for de weather," Rafiki observed. "Perhaps de Kings of de Past are trying to communicate with me," Rafiki suggested, and I frowned in curiosity.

"You can speak to the spirits?" I asked of the mandrill.

"Yes...now, hush," he ordered, having to clear his mind to hear the delicate voices of the kings of old. I myself felt a rush of air brush past my arm, and my hairs straightened as my back shivered. Rafiki moved his mouth to words of an entirely different tongue to that of English. To pass the time, I looked at the gallery on the central branch once more and marvelled at the history of the Pride Lands. This is a place where the people are proud of their history and will give their life to defend it, much like the United Kingdom itself. I shall be the one to defend this land when all else fails, and I will attempt to inspire the people in times of hardship. A loud gasp by Rafiki made me extract myself from my thoughts.

"Oh...oh stars above!" he cried. Had he heard something he wished he hadn't.

"What? What's wrong?" I ask of the mandrill. His vacant glare of shock in the direction of the shadowed land to the northern border of the Pride Lands caused me to follow it.

"What's over there?" I cautiously ask Rafiki, unsure whether he is prepared to answer.

"Dat is a land of shadow, death, anger, sorrow and suffering," Rafiki listed. "It is de final resting place of de elephants, and it has seen a terrible deed," Rafiki announced.

"What is this deed?" I ask for more information.

"Scar, de brother of de king, has made a deal with de devil; he has called for Ibilisi, and de Dark Lord has answered!"

"Dad, are we going to see Alex now?" Simba asked with excitement strangling his voice. He loved few things more than laying his eyes upon Alex. His great height and stature brought comfort to his heart, and he loved playing with the human, he understood his problems.

"Yes, Simba, I told you a dozen times," Mufasa chuckled. His pride flowed around his body with his blood, he wanted nothing more to see his son, his flesh and blood,

as happy as he was now. His heart was sure that the future of the Pride Lands was secured, with his first born son, his adopted son and Guardian, and he did not intend to restrict his family to two. He had news that he intended to tell Simba and Alex when they were together. He wanted as many moments he would remember fondly before his passing.

"I've never seen Simba so happy and energetic," Sarabi commented as Simba ran ahead and attempted to catch a butterfly, but only to release it after.

"Aye," Mufasa agreed. For all of his joy he held at witnessing his rejoicing son, he was not without doubt or fear. Would they come across Scar, who would probably attempt to denature the purity of the moment? He regretted not being able to save him from descending into what he was today. He also knew that for every happy moment, there would be a sad moment.

'I will make sure I will defy this law of life. Simba deserves nothing but happiness. He has done nothing to earn grief or suffering, but he must learn death's sting soon,' Mufasa's mind told him. Simba did not have a clear memory of his grandmother, and she died only a week after his birth. Mufasa refused to remember her death at this moment. He had completed his mourning.

Mufasa's thoughts ended when he felt the earth rumble beneath his paws. It was a greater tremor than what he would expect with his family beside him, and it rapidly increased to the power of a great stampede, and before his very eyes, he gasped at two slabs of earth moving in different directions.

"Simba! Come hither!" Mufasa yelled as fear and panic accelerated his heart, and before his son could return to the sanctuary of his parents, the mild movement of the earth ceased, and the momentum caused Mufasa to stumble and fall onto the ground. Sarabi had also lost a great amount of her balance but managed to remain upright. Her will to protect her secret was greater than the earthquake that had just shaken them.

"Mom, Dad! Are you okay?" Simba asked, his voice trembling with the fright he endured. Never had he experienced the earth move in the manner it did.

"What was that?" the cub asked his parents.

"It was an earthquake," Sarabi replied as she nuzzled and licked her son, grateful that he was not burdened with pain.

"Be aware of aftershocks," Mufasa warned his family, knowing that earthquakes are not a solitary phenomenon. His ear twitched at the unpleasant sound of a particular animal, the very animal he had to protect his sons from the previous day.

"Hyenas, why does it have to be hyenas?" Mufasa questioned. Not only had they just endured an earthquake on the way to meeting with Alex, the hyenas had to make things interesting. If they were to try to attack his family or kingdom, they would regret it.

'Why now, of all other hours of the day?', Sarabi thought. Just when they were about to have a family moment. She wondered if she should be in this situation at all, considering her cargo.

She gasped in fear when she heard the faint cackles and yips of the approaching hyenas, but the noise lingered to the north, beneath the shadow and the surrounding areas. It remained in that area for a few minutes.

'What would they be doing?' Mufasa wondered in his mind. There was no doubt that they were in the Pride Lands, otherwise, he would not have the misfortune to listen to their soundtrack.

"I'm going to see what the problem is, you need to return to Pride Rock," Mufasa commanded his mate and son. Sarabi nodded in understanding.

"Come, Simba, this place is potentially dangerous, we should see if everyone else is okay," Sarabi said.

"Okay," Simba accepted, hoping that Nala was unharmed, and they departed for their home. As they ran towards Pride Rock, they had to dodge and jump over several cracks in the earth. Their pace hastened when their advanced sense of smell detected the foul stench of the hyenas, and it only grew stronger as they came ever closer to their home.

'What is this?' Sarabi thought. 'It's as if they had infiltrated the Pride Lands and slipped past us, perhaps the hyenas that Mufasa went to see were a distraction,'

Sarabi guessed, but she could not pair an answer with a question that remained in her mind. 'Why?'

Why had they entered the Pride Lands when they know their chances of a successful uprising are almost non-existent, at least without a lion. After countless thoughts raced through her troubled mind, Sarabi remembered that Scar had once been punished for associating with hyenas. Was he still meeting with them? Was his desire for the throne great enough that he would use the hyenas as muscle? Was this a coup designed to eliminate the Royal Family? Sarabi panicked, her heart palpitated with fear and betrayal, and she prayed that Mufasa would return. She hoped that he had heard the hyenas also. She diverted into a dense, and Simba followed behind.

She gasped when she saw glimpses of the shadowy figures of the many enemies, and it was not long before she realised that she was surrounded, and an overwhelming sense of helplessness caused her heart to sink like a stone. It took a considerable amount of effort to retain any sense of calmness for the sake of her cubs, both born and unborn.

'Is this a good time to tell him?' Sarabi questioned, unsure whether she should inflict more worry in Simba's mind. He was already enduring a heart rate as quick as the hyenas increased in number around them. There were six...seven, no...ten, and then he lost count and all hope. He curled up in a ball beneath Sarabi's slightly enlarged stomach, waiting for a thousand teeth to rip his flesh and tear his small body.

The hyenas approached the mother and the son with lethal intentions. They would end the monarchy themselves. They thought Scar would be proud of them despite not being instructed to assassinate the Queen and her son. They believed that they were sure to be rewarded for the deed.

Sarabi braced for entry into a world of pain that she would never depart from, and she internally said her goodbyes to those she loved.

' _Farewell, my beloved mate, I regret that we departed in this way,'_ she bode well for Mufasa.

' _Farewell, my children, Simba, Alex, and my unborn cub, it is a tragedy that we could not be a family together, we shall never share the joy and grief of this life,_

 _but perhaps it is for the best,'_ she lamented for her children, falling into sorrow for the fact that they had only begun to live their lives, and one wasn't even born!

'Farewell, my greatest friend, we will meet once more when your time comes. I hope grief does not steal your life,' she spoke to Sarafina, who was like a sister to her and enjoyed her company more than that of few others. She would miss her unyielding laugh and supportive advice.

She felt the hyena leap at her, she could smell its foul air. She accepted this fate, despite the scum that would take her life, and the life inside her. However,

something happened that she least expected the most. She heard the sound of something piercing through flesh, and the sound of bones being crushed. She dared to open her eyes, and when the tears cleared, she beheld the disgusting site of a hyena, stapled to the earth with a long pole, and when she followed its apparent trajectory, she discovered the source of the spike. She gasped in utter relief and confusion at what her eyes told her.

ROOOAAAAR!

"What the heck was that?" I ask Rafiki, flinching at the sound of a roar as loud as thunder.

"Dat sounded like Mufasa, he's in trouble!" Rafiki said.

"What are we going to do?" I questioned the mandrill. My legs were useless, and my makeshift crutches were long gone. How was I supposed to carry out my duties as a Guardian with the wounds I bear? Start of the fucking century!

"I'm afraid you're out of action, dere's nothing you can do, I'm afraid," Rafiki said to my dejection. I felt a surge of sudden anger towards the mandrill, and without noticing, I swiftly rose and lectured the shaman.

"If you think I'm gonna sit on my ass and stand by and let my family die, then you've got another thing coming!" I shouted, but remembered his rule and apologised.

Rafiki still retained his mask of utter confusion, and then I realised why his face displayed as thus.

"I can stand..." I gasp. I could stand without pain, and I didn't need the magic of Rafiki! I didn't even struggle to get up. I pull up my trouser legs and unravel the leaves, and all signs of the wound were gone. No blood, no exposed flesh, not even a scratch! Then my mind returns to the reason I stood up in the first place.

"C'mon," I encouraged Rafiki to follow me. However, I noticed that he remained in his position, apparently refusing to move a muscle.

"What are you waiting for?" I asked him incredulously.

"I sense Sarabi and Simba are also in grave peril, you must help them, while I sort out Mufasa's hyenas," Rafiki said as he rose his staff, the tip of which exploded in light, temporarily blinding me, and when I regained the ability to see, I could not see Rafiki. I descended down the tree by swinging down to the earth by a vine and letting the potential energy reduce to a point where I can jump off. I ran as fast as I could, and once again, an unnatural pace my legs carried allowed me to sprint across the savannah effortlessly. Instinct acted as some sort of GPS, I knew Mufasa would send his mate and cub away from danger, but it seems danger followed the mother and the son. As I ran with my new found pace, a wand of light caught my attention and an invisible weight forced me to adjust my running style.

The bright pole of golden light dimmed, and in my hand had formed a spear with a hollow blade with an elegant design. The 'flint' was as sharp as razors, and my ears detected the laughter of the hyenas, and soon enough, I saw that they surrounded a small forest of acacia trees, and in the centre were Sarabi and Simba, who was shivering in fear beneath his mother. Why was Sarabi not fighting back? Was her main priority to protect Simba at all costs? She wouldn't need to protect, because I had arrived, and to make myself known, I decided to throw the spear.

'Whatever you do, don't hit Sarabi or Simba, that would be beyond stupid,' I told myself as I adjusted my aim. I had once competed in several sports days secondary school in the javelin, and the best I got was second place on four occasions. The guy who always beat me would one day compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Anyway, when I decided on a safe angle, I let loose the spear with a monster throw, packed with speed and strength. However, a sudden gust of wind brought a change in the trajectory of the spear, slightly to the right...where the hyenas were. I grimaced as the spear pierced one of the hyenas, pinning them to the ground. All turned to me, including Sarabi and her cub, and several seconds passed before anyone moved, and that person was me. I sounded my furious battle cry as I charged towards the hyenas and yanked the spear from the deceased hyena. One hyena lunged at me from the front, and I held the spear across my head and pushed it towards the hyena, and when it met my spear, it was knocked out.

Another hyena attempted to floor me, but by instinct, I held the spear in a way that it was pointing towards the hyena, and before it could react, it's flesh had been penetrated. I gasped in shock and horror, and if it weren't for a third hyena that charged from my rear, I would have vomited at the gruesome sight of blood and stomach acid pouring from the wound on the second victim's abdomen.

With the blunt end, I poked the aggressor's eye, and that was enough to incapacitate it momentarily. I spun the spear with my fingers, attempting to ward off the hyenas. A few had deserted the group, but a fourth ran towards me with lethal intentions. I swung the spear laterally, and it clipped his neck and sliced his jugular vein,

but I started to show aggression towards those who did not appear willing to fight, and I decided to make a statement of warning, so I plunged the spear into the femoral artery of the hyena which I hit in the eye, and before my eyes, a large puddle of crimson blood had formed on the grass. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, and I yelled at the hyenas, who were now running away.

"You mess with my family, I'll make sure you all regret it," I let the hyenas know, and that was when the reality of the scene came to my senses. The overwhelming stench of the blood, the mangled bodies riddled with lethal wounds, and then the regret of my aggression.

'I shouldn't have killed so many hyenas,' I told myself in my mind. 'I shouldn't have killed at all!' I added. What in the names of all Guardians before me had I done? I had murdered in anger, I mercilessly slaughtered them, with fury my fuel.

"That...that was quite something," Sarabi commented, bringing my mind back into the world. The fear in her voice had turned to shock, but it was still shivering.

"Are you okay?" I asked my adoptive mother, worrying that she was traumatised by both the confrontation by the hyenas and me culling them.

"I'm fine, but..." Sarabi started, but an unsettling feeling in our feet grew swiftly. The earth vibrated beneath our very feet.

"Aftershock, stay away from things that can fall," Sarabi instructed. We were betwixt the forest and a rock formation wedged between two layers of dark brown mud and the burnt yellow grass.

"Alex, I'm scared!" Simba whimpered as the tremors suddenly became a violent shift, and a great crack formed faster than anyone could speak. The gap exponentially grew, and to my horror, the side on which Sarabi and Simba were stationed collapsed. The shaking stole from me my balance and also my comprehension of the situation. My body bounced on the ground, and after a seemingly endless minute, the shaking ended. I checked my clothes for scarlet stains, but I found nothing, but my shoulder and knee were bruised.

White noise rang through my head and added to my mild pain, and then my clearing vision allowed me to observe the enormous crack in the earth. I carefully edged closer to the chasm, and I predicted a depth of twenty feet. My heart felt as if it fell down that very same chasm, for when the dust cleared, I saw the motionless bodies of Simba and Sarabi.

 **A/N: Oh, sh..shuh, shuh, shoot. This is really bad. Will Simba and Sarabi be okay? And has her unborn cub been harmed? You know the drill now, you must wait to find out. As always, thanks for reading and please review constructively.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Will Sarabi be the sole victim of the earthquake? Or will Alex be able to save her? One thing is for sure, this will be an immense emotional hurdle for Alex.**

I tested the stability of the soil, and I judged that it was safe to descend without the earth collapsing and causing more harm than good. I stood up and let gravity pull me down to the bottom of the chasm, causing a small avalanche and letting some soil and stones in my shoes, which were starting to get dirty and dilapidated.  
I observed the vital signs of Simba and Sarabi, putting my ear against their mouths. I sighed heavily and a weak smile of relief formed on my face, and then I flinched when Simba coughed mildly.

"Ugh, what happened?" he asked with a raspy moan.

"There was an earthquake, and you and your Mum fell down this chasm," I explained to the cub, who looked up to the sky, surprised that he was as lightly damaged as he was. He checked himself over and only had to shake off the dust that carpeted his golden fur.

I heard heavy footsteps from above our position, and behind me was Mufasa, looking down in the gap in shock and horror.

"Simba, Alex, is your mother okay?" he asked. He seemed particularly worried.

"No, she's unconscious, it looks like she landed on her side," I replied.

"Oh, no! That's not good at all!" Mufasa cried, panic clamping down on his voice.

"Why?" Simba wondered aloud. "What's the matter?" he shouted his question with his small voice.

"She's pregnant," Mufasa announced, and my immediate reaction was to nearly pop my eyes out of my sockets, and then one of my most upsetting memories surfaced in my mind. The memory of my true mother's failed pregnancy and the resulting death. Her diagnosis was eclampsia, for she had a seizure on the morning she passed away, and her blood pressure was through the roof, and the baby, whose name was going to be Matilda, was stillborn. The memory froze my body, and Simba looked at me with concern carved on his face. My increased heart rate induced an episode of paranoia and my hearing was stolen. Simba's muffled voice asked what was happening to me, but I knew not what to say.

"Oh, I remember now..." Simba realised why I had reacted in such a way. I told him of my mother's death, and now that my adoptive mother was in a perilous situation with unborn life inside her, I feared the worst thing that could happen would come to pass once more.

"Where's Rafiki?" Simba asked his father.

"He chased off the hyenas, he told me to meet you here," my hearing sharpened to a normal level, and I gulped, daring to edge closer to Sarabi, and then, in my eyes, a flash of light almost blinded me, but the more I thought about it, I could extract precise details. A machine with a long, green line on its screen fed tubes connected to Sarabi, and I heard otherworldly screams of grief and sorrow. I now felt physically sick, and I held my mouth in a futile attempt to avoid vomiting, but that's what I endured. I couldn't handle the shock, fear and pain, it came to a point where I felt the world spin around me, and the ground met my face.

* * *

I didn't know how long I was out, but it was a bite on the thumb by Simba that woke me. I relied on Mufasa to help me pull myself up. I looked at Sarabi again,  
but this time, my body was filled with determination to avert any danger of my adoptive mother from succumbing to the same fate as my biological one.  
My hand reached out to feel for any wounds, and when I came to her stomach, I felt it...I felt the unborn cub inside her, and an overwhelming wave of panic and fear swept away my composure, and I receded from my adoptive mother, and an utter darkness crossed my mind like the clouds blocking the sun. I started to hyperventilate due to the blinding fear that history would repeat. I would see my family suffer once more, I don't think I could live through losing another parent.

"Alex!" Simba cried, cutting short my spell of mad thought and breathing. I looked around helplessly and burst into tears of grief as if Sarabi and her unborn cub had already died.

"I...I can't do it, I just can't!" I convinced myself, the darkness took over any sensical thought as I descended into an abyss of hopelessness.

"Alex, you're the only one who can do it, Rafiki told me that you must start saving people on your own," Mufasa said. His powerful voice blew away the despair and filled my mind with hope and determination. I refused to be held back by any more mental or physical obstacles, I disregard the minor tremor that rumbled beneath my feet and triggered a small landslide about ten metres to my right. I knelt down next Sarabi, placed my hands on her beatless chest, the discovery of which caused my neck to be irritated by panic-induced sweat.

"I trust you," Mufasa encouraged. I tried to find the helpfulness, but the thing was, I didn't trust myself. However, before I can start cardio-pulmonary resuscitation,  
I get a wave of deja vu, a memory of my prom night with my fellow high school students. It was a day I would never forget for reasons both good and bad.

 _The weather was content, and everyone was excited to meet with their friends for potentially for the last time in years. The Southwark High School Class of 2011 met together for a night of celebration and reflection. At one of the many private function rooms at One Canada Square, the venue was hired and the equipment, decoration and entertainment were all partially funded by my family's wealth. My deceased friend, Isaac Nkosi, was made posthumous 'Prom King' and my third cousin, Sarah Davis-Maximilian, was the 'Prom Queen', and awards were given for attributes such as 'Best Couple', one each for loudest and quietest students, one for 'Best Friendship',_  
 _a few 'Most Likely to Become...', which I won the 'Prime Minister' award, which I thought was because of my family's wealth and association with the Conservative Part of the United Kingdom, to name but a few. The 'trophies' were Academy Award statute replicas made of plastic but with gold-plating._

 _Anyway, I was sitting on one of the many tables with tablecloths of elegant and intricate pattern designs and decorations, next to one of my many friends, Connor Stephens, who, like me, was an athletic fellow. He was tall and muscular with dark brown hair, but his favourite sport was rugby. He was one of the first people you would pass to due to his unyielding speed and brave ability to defy attempts to fell him like a tree. He was as strong as an oak and fast as a peregrine falcon._  
 _If you would ask for a definition of health and fitness, I would show you a picture of Connor. However, what we would soon find out would shock us all, rewriting all we would know about him._

 _"Oh, I don't feel so good..." he commented, palming his chest. I frowned in curiosity. This was unusual for Connor, he always ate the most healthy option on the menu,_  
 _and we were eating from a buffet provided by a five-star hygiene certificate restaurant, which was also a five-star hotel._

 _"Did you eat something dodgy?" I asked him jokingly. He shook his head._

 _"Nah, it's...something in my chest, my heart...it-it's like...murmuring, it's not right," he attempted to explain his condition. My face fell in seriousness, I knew this to be the complete opposite of good._

 _"Do you have any heart problems?" I interrogate him, while I metaphorically search through the files in my brain, finding the cardio-pulmonary resuscitation one,_  
 _preparing for the worst-case scenario._

 _"Not that I know of..." he replied before he seethed in pain and firmly clutched on his chest._

 _"Oh, shit..." I gasped as his face fell onto the table, claiming everyone's attention and cutting all sounds short. After a brief din of screams and shouts, someone asked who knew CPR. I made it clear that I knew first aid, and promptly but gently pulled him from his chair and onto the floor, undoing the buttons on his shirt,_  
 _and placing my hands on top of each and made firm, consistent and brisk compressions._

 _'One, two, three, four...' I whi_ s _pered to myself as I followed_ _the required rhythm to restore his heartbeat. I was determined to succeed in saving the life of someone close to me for once, I had lost Isaac two years ago after he sacrificed himself to save me, for which I am eternally grateful and will never forget him for._  
 _Once again, I have the fate of my friend's life in my hands, but this time, I will not see another person close to me die._

I replicated the rhythm of the compressions on Sarabi's chest, and I debate whether I should alter the technique to compensate for her anatomy, but all I knew was that it was imperative that I would bring Sarabi from this perilous situation. I would not let Mufasa lose his mate, nor Simba lose his mother, nor anyone lose their life. The situation was exponentially increased, for not only was Sarabi at risk of dying, so was the unborn cub I now knew existed. All of my physical strength and endurance was spent on trying to revive Sarabi, and all of my mental strength was used up trying to barricade my mind against the fear and memory of losing an unborn child flooding my brain.

 _The sweat caused my shirt to stick to my back as I continued_ _pumping Connor's chest, with every fibre of my muscles, I tried to re-establish his_ heart beat _, and by now, an ambulance was ordered. Every ten compressions, I would_ breath _air into his lungs, disregarding immature homosexual connotations. I couldn't fail my friend, he had his entire life ahead of him, and I would not forgive myself if I failed to conserve his future._

The lactic acid in my arms drained nearly all of my energy, and as I fought to revive my adoptive mother, tears of pain, fatigue and almost overwhelming fear began to well up in my eyes, and wincing at their sting, and through gritted teeth, I said,

"Wake up! Please, wake up! I shall not lose you, for the sake of Mufasa and Simba, and your unborn cub. All I ask of you is that you wake up," I begged her to return from unconsciousness.

When all hope I had threatened to drain from my body, I heard a gasp almost as heavy as my shield, and Sarabi's coughing dragged tears down my cheeks as I gently wrapped an arm around her.

"Alex..." she murmured, nuzzling my shoulder and licking off the tears on my face with elegant accuracy.

"Thank you, my son, I owe you the lives of myself and my unborn cub," she stated.

"It was the very least a son could do for his mother," I said, slightly weirded out that I freely considered Sarabi as my mother, but I predict that it was the adrenaline and emotions that dictated my words, yet I do not regret them, nor would I change them if given the chance.

"Alex," I turned around to the lion who spoke my name. Mufasa nuzzled my unbruised shoulder, a sign of unending gratitude towards his son for saving the life of his mate and his second cub.

"There are no words to express my sincere gratitude for your actions, I commend you on your bravery, for I know the demons that haunt your mind," Mufasa said.

"Yeah, that was really brave," Simba voiced his agreement. I leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead, more than rejoiceful that my family were now safe.  
No matter what dangers this world will present to my family, be they artificial or natural, I will do whatever I can to keep them from fatal harm.

You're probably wondering what happened to Connor. Well, fortunately I did revive him, and he was taken by ambulance to hospital, where he was most ill-fortuned to be diagnosed with Brugada syndrome, a cruel condition that could kill him at any moment, and as a result, he was forced to forfeit any professional sporting activity and had another heart attack in 2016, and this time, he did not make it. I felt as if my earlier heroics were futile, but I would not go as far as regretting saving his life, even though he and his family lived with the fear of sudden death. I could not imagine the feeling that your life could be cut short, your love stolen from your family without a thing you could do to prevent or delay it.

"We were going to tell you later in a formal announcement to the pride, but I guess we can let the rumours spread," Sarabi compromised.

"So, Simba...I guess you might have your desired sibling after all," I said as I stroked his head, retaining the position I was in when I embraced my brother.  
Simba's reaction was that of further rejoice and jubilation. He jumped around the crevice, chanting 'I'm gonna be a big brother!'  
His elation brought joy to my heart, shortly after it was beating rapidly in fear of losing a loved one, but I now know that I have gained another one.

 **A/N: Well, that was a relief. Let's not forget about everyone else at Pride Rock. Is anyone else hurt? And may Connor Stephens rest in non-canon heaven. One of my aims as a writer is to raise awareness of medical conditions and how to spot them.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Let's have a moment to calm things down. Let's delve into Alex's troubled mind after the incident with the hyenas.**

We strode along the path of the shifted earth, navigating besides the fissures and chasms that extended about a kilometre before Pride Rock, and as my adoptive parents and brother advanced towards the natural palace, I realised that I was bloody thirsty, so I let my family know that I intended to get a drink from the waterhole. They were promised a return within the half-hour, and by the time I had arrived at the waterhole, thoughts sprinted through my mind as I washed my face, with tan and dirt masking my peachy skin. I looked at my distorted reflection in the clear water moved by the wind, admiring my long yet full face. Lines of weariness supported my blue eyes as I attempt to comprehend the events of the last hour. A question burdened my mind more than the bruises on my shoulder.

Am I a murderer?

Am I capable of ending a life in anger, without regret? It occurred to me that I didn't really think twice to kill the hyenas. Something broke in my mind like a damn containing a violent urge to unleash utter destruction. It was similar to how I felt when Rafiki floored me the other day. Embarrassment and a lust for revenge overwhelmed me, and I wanted to get back at him. I know that this current debate means that I have some form of regret, but as Rafiki said, I am vulnerable while I have untamed emotions. What if my enemies get their hands, or paws, on my weakness before they can diminish? Will Ibilisi, who has apparently answered the call of Scar, manage to convince me to give into my emotions and use my gifts to their potential? I am determined to not let that happen, but is determination enough?  
Is any of this enough? Will I succeed in my duties as a Guardian? Will anyone, or anything, stop Scar and Ibilisi from holding fast dominion over the Pride Lands, or even the entire world. How great is their lust for power and revenge?

And even though it is inevitable that I am going to be The Guardian, how many times will I have moments of doubt and despair? How will I deal with them?

And even though it is undeniable that death comes to all, how long can I prevent the claws of death reaching those who I love?

And even though it is so that my end will come to pass, who shall protect the Pride Lands beyond my passing?

And even though I shall be given endless love, will I be able to return it to the Kings of the Future?

As these questions pass through my cerebrum, I remember my true purpose for the visit. I take a handful of water and sip it from my cupped palm, enjoying the fresh liquid passing through my throat.

"It's a nice day with unpleasant events," a female voice spoke, the suddenness of which threatened to trigger a choking fit.

"Yeah, uh...who are you?" I asked in confusion. Surely I would have heard the sound of the lioness' paws on the lush grass? I observed her features, her light brown pelt with a cream underbelly, and bright blue eyes, much like my own.

"My name is Dhamiri," her voice brought comfort to my heart, her sound was as beautiful as harmonic music performed by angels. Her voice reminded me of the warm voice of my mother.

"Nice to meet you...Dhamiri," my words came between gentle gulps of saliva and water. "My name is..."

"I know your name, Alex Richard Maximilian," she spoke calmly, and to my utter confusion. I was utterly discombobulated.

"Y-you do?" I questioned. My voice was stolen and so I could not convert my thoughts to voice. How the hell did she know my full name, the name I have not yet uttered in this place before.

"I know everything about you...because I am you, I am your conscience," she said. I shook my head, but I knew not whether it was in astonishment or denial.  
To ensure that I was not dreaming, I dipped my head in the water, and the only result was my face getting needlessly drenched, and water going in places where it isn't comfortable.

"You're what now?" I ask for confirmation after allowing the water to drain from my facial cavities. How can the personification of my conscience be a lioness?

"I am indeed the personification of your conscience, and it is in the form of a lioness because your family history is intertwined with lion-kind," she informed.  
Well, my family's coat of arms was that of the banner of Elizabeth II, St George's banner and three lions standing on their hind legs. But why?

"If I answered all of your questions, we would end our conversation by tomorrow's rising sun," she chuckled, even though I didn't speak at all. I kinda accepted the fact that she would say things before I could.

"Right, I should be getting back, my family would be waiting for me," I said, unsure if I needed to continue this conversation.

"Yes, but be cautioned, even though your family will provide guidance, it would be prejudiced against hyenas, you should not ignore your violence on a particular species, that is an unintentional fault of lions, they were poisoned against hyenas by Ibilisi, so they would not hesitate to engage in combat," Dhamiri explained the relationship between lions and hyenas. I questioned whether my family would offer impure advice.

"Do not fear, Alex, those who love you will always give you advice that will benefit you," Dhamiri assured me, taming my troubled mind. The brewing storm in my mind was cleared by my own conscience, funnily enough.

"Thank you, Dhamiri, I really appreciate it," I voiced my gratitude.

"You're very welcome, Alex. I will be there for you when all hope is lost," she said.

I smiled at my own conscience, which is a strange thing to have happened to you. Things I thought were beyond impossible were becoming very much real. If I were told that I would be adopted by a Royal Family of lions, trained by a mandrill, talking to the personification of my conscience, I would reply with a statement claiming that I despised England.

In a blink, Dhamiri ceased to be seen by my eyes. I sighed in weariness, just wanting to descend into slumber in this very spot, but I forced myself to make the return journey to Pride Rock. As I walk beneath the darkening sky, I muse on the questions I asked myself, and the answers that my own conscience gave me.  
My doubts were tamed, but not extinguished. Who wouldn't freak out at having to protect an entire kingdom?

Soon enough, I found myself at the foot of Pride Rock. I now possessed the comforting feeling I got when I arrived at my home in London. I felt safe here, and I knew many happy memories would be forged here. Before I could begin to ascend the entrance to Pride Rock, a sweet air caught my attention, and it pleased my ears.  
The sound of a voice as soft as the evening wind in which it was carried was sung in a strange language, the melody was fluid and polyphonic. The pleasant sound came from behind me, and as I turned to face the wind, the delicate voice grew in volume and became a beautifully epic melody. However, an unexpected sound interrupted the voice, a deep, heavy sound but was delicate as the moving air. I have heard this music before, but I know not where I heard it. I recognised the melody as a distant memory, only just beyond my reach, if only I could unfold the memory...

"Alex!" a young voice cried, ending the marvellous music, but I was not disappointed, for the voice belonged to Simba. The cub ran down the slanted rock and nuzzled my knees, and my reply was to stroke his head and neck, and this caused a purr to ripple through his throat, the vibrations caused satisfaction to my entire body.

"Hey, buddy. What do you want?" I asked Simba. "Is our mother and future sibling okay?"

"Yeah, they're both good," Simba responded to my further relief.

"C'mon, let's go see them," I suggested, my hand ceasing to stroke his neck. We made our way back to the cavern at the foot of the pinnacle of Pride Rock. At the entrance stood Mufasa. The sight of his regal and powerful body brought to my heart calmness and security, similar to the feeling I experienced when I was surrounded by the embrace of my biological father.

"I cannot speak highly enough of your bravery, my human son, not only did you fight for your family, but you fought off dark memories of your old life to save the lives of your mother and unborn cub," my adoptive father, who I should start referring to as 'Father', or 'Dad', said. My neck twitched at the mention of the incident prior to the aftershock. I was still plunged into doubt. Would I succumb to anger and hatred and slaughter another single being without regret during the black deed?

"I would have done nothing less if Sarabi was not my mother, it would destroy my soul to witness the slaughtering of the future of the Pride Lands and do nothing to prevent needless suffering. It is my duty to protect the Royal Family and their loyal people, and I will uphold that duty until my last gasp of oxygen and until my last drop of blood, and if the fall of the Pride Lands were to come to pass in my stewardship, then the King or Queen will have the right to exile me into the realms beyond our borders, for I would not be worthy to protect that which I have let fail," I voiced my oath to my father.

"I appreciate it, but I have faith that the punishment you set yourself will not be required. You have already shown mighty loyalty, endless bravery and faultless love for this land as it is your old one," Dad replied, and each compliment caused the corners of my mouth to rise. I placed a hand on the shoulder of the mighty lion and after a moment of admiration and reflection of my first week in the Pride Lands, the days of which I have lost count, I decided to enter the cave where Sarabi was resting.

"Alex, come here," my mother requested. I gladly approached my lioness mother, whose stomach was slightly swollen, more so than what would indicate a stomach full of food. I folded my legs and gently lowered my body, extending a tender arm with the intention to stroke her neck. To my confusion, my mother gently guided my hand before I could stroke her, and she placed it on her enlarged stomach, and retained her paw on my hand, waiting for a sign of motion by the unborn cub. Soon enough, the unborn cub kicked at the wall of her womb, and I felt the weak thud on the palm of my hand, and a grin formed on my face, a mask of excitement and amazement triggered a chuckle from the lioness.

"It can't wait to meet you, Alex, your new sister will arrive in the coming weeks," my mother commented.

"You think the cub is a girl?" I remarked, and Sarabi nodded.

"Maternal instinct," she replied.

 **A/N: So, a new character will be arriving soon. I already have a name for them, so don't waste your time leaving suggestions for this character, but I'm always welcome to other OC suggestions. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated and thank you for reading.**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Shall we try and find some more nice family moments before any badness happens?**

The sun no longer decayed the darkness of the cave beneath Pride Rock, indicating that the hours were drawing closer to dusk. Already, my overwhelming fatigue drained any energy that could be spent playing with Simba. After my encounter with Sarabi's unborn cub, I decided to make my way to my sleeping place, a platform set between an arch receded from the rest of the wall of the cave. It was like a private chamber with three walls.

I reconfigured the sheets that acted as bedding and a blanket. They were made of the most delicate silk, softest cotton and warmest wool. The blanket was manufactured to look like the British flag. I imagined having a layer of fur covering my entire body, insulating my soul as the cold of night tried to gnaw at my skin. I wouldn't require the bedding that I had originally taken with me on my pilgrimage to my relatives' home in Johannesburg.

Looking over at my adoptive mother and father at the other side of the dark cave, I saw their intimate behaviour, composed of affectionate nuzzling and tender licks. My attention was bought by the laughter of Simba and his friends, they ran as an oncoming front of a great cacophonous din and a tsunami of energy. I grinned at how much fun Simba was experiencing. I was glad beyond all gladness that he had such great friends. It reminded me of my own adventures with my friends in London.

"Hey, Alex!" Simba successfully called for my attention. I feared that he would ask for my services in one of his games, and if I had more energy to spend, I would not hesitate to do so.

"What is it, Simba?" I replied before a great yawn escaped my body.

"I was wondering if you wanted to sleep over with Mom and Dad, seeing as we're family now, it would strengthen our bond," Simba requested. A mighty sense of honour and gratitude coursed around my body, gifting me a small spark of energy that I would need to transport my belongings across the cave.

"I would love to," I gladly accepted, and prepared to gather my property in a way that I could transfer it to my new sleeping place in one go,

"Oh, don't worry about all that. No one's gonna take it," Simba chuckled. I thought that he did have a valid point. My clothes, toiletries and weapons acquired from the wreck could not be used to their purpose by other animals, and any animals that would be able to use it would not enter Pride Rock without invitation.

"Yeah, you're right," I conceded, and without anything else to do, I navigated around the group of lionesses preparing to commence their sleep. Hoping I would finally enjoy a night without terror, grief or suffering, I positioned myself between Sarabi and Mufasa.

"Ah, you've decided to join us, I'm glad we are able to sleep as one happy family!" Sarabi said with light rejoice in her voice.

"Yeah, make sense, I guess," I said. If I was to be not only the Guardian but their adopted son, it would be logical to be close to my family and those who I will protect. I allow Simba to generously nuzzle my face, and I decided to lift him up in the air, holding him up like my cat, beneath his arms. His laughter fills my heart with a warm feeling of utter joy. It provided me with much-needed delight, something I was deprived of for most of my hectic days spent in this place. I bring Simba close to my chest, wrapping my arms around him and imprisoning him within my loving grasp. His fur against my skin was much too soft to part with, I wanted to keep him with me forever.

"Grrr...let me go!" Simba pleaded for liberation.

"Nah, I like where you are right now," my laughter was joined by the merry soundtrack of our parents. A sudden and overwhelming wave of fatigue drew a sigh of contentment and satisfaction as I finally allowed Simba to escape my muscular arms. He nuzzled me once more as I ran my hand through his thick patch of fur on his cranium and down his spine. He set himself down next to my stomach, and I reconfigured my position so I could gaze down at Simba, into his kind crimson eyes until I would fall asleep. To Simba, my hand streaming down his body felt like bliss, and he didn't hesitate to welcome the utterly delightful sensation that made a weight upon his eyes. I smiled as his eyes gradually closed and his cuteness escalated to an entirely new level. This has been the happiest moment in my new home for sure. I hope I would have plenty more moments like this, and as these thoughts ran through my contented mind, I voiced my wishes of a pleasant night to my parents, refusing to allow bittersweet memories of my biological parents to make their presence known. I would not allow liquid to fall from my eyes tonight. This moment is too pure for my eyes to sting and memories to taint. I fell asleep with my hand gently resting on Simba's back.

"You half-assed imbiciles, I ordered you to infiltrate the Pride Lands only to steal food, not to attack the Royal Family!" Scar growled in an untamable anger. He was furious with the hyenas for attacking the lion he wanted to personally execute. He had always lived in the shade of his _magnificent_ elder brother, who was car. It mattered not when he became the leader of the Lion Guard and bearer of the Roar of the Elders, a great power bestowed on the fiercest member of the Lion Guard, usually the second in line to the throne of Kiburi. With his gift, he was untouchable. Those who refused to exact his demands would meet his wrath, just like his own Guard. Destroyed because they refused to break their loyalty to the king.

Shenzi, who Scar directed his irate ranting towards, knew that her last chance was gone. She made and broke a promise, there was no point in attempting to beg for mercy, let alone yet another chance to fail. She knew her time was short and that she would not live to see her pups, fathered by Banzai, grow into the scavengers they were born to be. Her heart was filled with regret and fear, not for her actions, but for the future of her clan.

"I do not seek forgiveness or mercy, for I have broken the terms of our oath, and we shall meet our end sooner than we would have desired," Shenzi admitted and winced as Scar raised a paw to her neck but instead of using a permanently unsheathed claw to slice her throat, he palmed her cheek.

"Oh, Shenzi, you are mistaken...I do not kill those whom I regard as friends," Scar said to the hyena matriarch's confusion.

"I..I-I don't understand, we..." Shenzi stuttered, but before she could give any further words, the rusty-pelted lion interrupted.

"But there is someone who I would like you to meet before you depart the world of the living," Scar said and disappeared into his cave, leaving Shenzi to nervously wait to meet her fate. She wondered how it would happen, quick or slow, merciful or sadistic, one culprit or joint slaughter?

Scar returned to the dull light beneath the perpetual cloud hanging low over the Elephant Graveyard, and in his left paw, he held a small sphere of cloudy marble. In the ball, she could see a light, shimmering as if it were seen from beneath the surface of water, but before her very eyes, she was astonished to see the dim light turn into a great flame wreathing the ball and insulating the vicinity. The ball rolled away from them gently, leaving a scorched trail, marking where it had navigated. The flame turned into an enormous inferno, which gained such a mass that it dented the earth. It ceased to move when it reached the centre of an intersection between four valleys between the mountains of elephant remains.

All hyenas within the area were drawn to the orb, and they edged closer in curiosity, but were aware of the immense heat emitted by the sphere. They felt their very fur trap them in a fiery blanket that they could not evade as the heat and luminosity of the Seeing Stone increased exponentially, until it reached a point where the hyenas within a hundred yards of the orb were burned alive, their skin peeled away as a great gale moved the heat towards the boundaries of the Elephant Graveyard. Almost as soon as the temperature reached it's peak, the fire inside the sphere vanished instantly, and with it's disappearance, stole the unimaginable temperature.

Shenzi, frozen in utter disbelief, looked on from the promontory from which she and Scar viewed the desolation caused by the ball of fire. She saw piles of dust and flesh where her soldiers died, one would not guess that they were hyenas, seeing how violated their corpses were. Her eyes were drawn to a movement where the ball had ceased and decimated at least half of her hyena clan in one fell swoop.

"What is this devilry?" Shenzi asked, her grief drawing out her sentence.

"This is the Devil himself, but not in his honest, most powerful form," Scar announced as the hyena matriarch stared at something that seemed to rise from the scorched path, the dust and ash appeared to be drawn to the now colourless Seeing Stone. A cold voice carried by the wind howled in the icy air as a trail of ash and dust was attracted to the sphere, and as more matter was joined to the sphere, an object began to rise from it. It took the form of some hominid creature, with two legs and two arms, and around the body wrapped a grey skin. The creature was now standing at it's full height of seven feet. It opened it's eyes, and it was as if the iris was made of lava, and inside the iris, a pupil as sharp as a claw and as narrow as a sword. Ibilisi had been summoned.

"Shenzi, may I introduce you to Ibilisi," Scar said. The said hyena was frozen in an unnatural fear. She didn't know if it was possible to endure such fear in her heart and mind, and predicted that she would have a heart attack within the coming moments.

Ibilisi was disgusted with this scene he was summoned to. He was disgusted by the foul vermin that crawled on the dirt, and decided that he would make quick work of replacing the weak and insignificant race that was the hyenas with his own soldiers. They could be described as a hybrid of cheetahs, jackals and a great number of species that could not naturally survive, and so they were known as the Abominations.

Ibilisi promptly drew a sword out of nothingness and thrust it in the air, and from the tip of the sword, a fork of lightning reached high into the night sky and illuminated the permanent shadow that loomed over the Elephant Graveyard. The grey blanket seemed to descend as long, bright arms of electricity reached across the cloud. Ibilisi then plunged the sword into the ash-ridden earth as a great wave of energy decimated the remains of Shenzi's clan, and in place of the earth that started to crumble and fall into a new abyss, an enormous eruption of lava took place before a great column of rock rose from the lake of fire, and branching from the side of the tower of immense height, it's view from foes guarded by a dense broil of fume of utter darkness, a bridge grew from the tower and reached out to the shore of the lake of the blood of the earth. This was but a taste of the wrath that the God of Death could unleash on the planet. He had arrived.

* * *

For once, I was not woken up by a dream, but by the heart-breaking sound of my brother crying, whispering my name desperately. I fought my way past the barrier of weariness to open my eyes.

"Alex!" Simba shook my shoulder and nuzzled my face in an effort to drag me out of slumber. His whiskers brushing against my nose gave me enough reason to wake myself up.

"What's the matter, Simba?" I asked, my voice poisoned with fatigue.

"I had the worst nightmare...it was horrible!" his voice threatened to increase to a volume that would disturb the other residents of the cave. He broke down into a silent sob of utter grief. I wondered how severe his dream had to have been to cause such grief. He buried his face into my chest, prompting me to

"Do you wish to recall it?" I cautiously asked, perhaps this apparent nightmare might provide a portent, and I'm unsure if it should remain a secret.

Simba closed his eyes, shivering in fear that he would be stolen away once more into the hellish nightmare he endured.

"I was standing on the edge of a cliff, and before me was a great abyss, I could not see anything but utter darkness," Simba's voice trembled as a tear fell down his face. I gently stroked his face, his soft fur pleasing my thumb.

"Behind me...there was a great wave of water, and it came towards me at a speed greater than I could imagine," the traumatised cub cried once more. I kissed his forehead as my arms acted as a cage that prevented the claws of evil from latching onto the innocent cub.

"But that wasn't the worst part..." Simba ended his tears. "I saw my family, you, Mom and Dad, and even Nala...they were all...d-dead!" Simba silently wailed into my shoulder as I tried to sooth him.

"Shhh, it's okay..." I whispered into his ear.

"I saw in the great void...a pool of fire, and I was caught between water and fire..." Simba spoke, but I hushed him again, not wishing him to endure his harrowing nightmare, it clearly caused him immense grief.

"Don't worry, my brother. You need not fear these dreams, I will make sure that your nightmares are but a figment of fear, and that they do not become a portent of your fate," I promised the cub. Not only was it my duty as the Guardian to protect all the heirs of Mufasa, but as a brother of the Prince, I will defend Simba from all foes that wish harm upon him, his family and his people, and help him and his heirs to be the best leaders they can be.

"If you stay with me, no one will harm you," I told Simba as I held him close to my torso, stroking his back. I could feel him purring as my original fatigue returned to my eyes. I could tell he felt content and adequately guarded from his nightmare. His eyes began to close.

"May your sleep be peaceful, Simba, I love you," I whispered in his ear as I kissed his paw. With a smile, the cub replied:

"I love you too, Alex."

 **A/N: I'm not sure what to say, from Gods to decimating entire clans at the click of a finger, to heart-warming moments between two brothers. What else will the narrative throw up in our faces? Continue reading if you wish to find out. As always, constructive criticism is appreciated and thank you for reading.**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Will there be any more intruders to Alex and his family? Or will he get a well-deserved break from the injuries and nightmares? Let's find out.**

For the first time since arriving at the Pride Lands, I had slept through the entire night without the disturbance of dreams, discounting Simba's nightmare. Speaking of which, I found myself waking up with my arms wrapped around his body, embracing his soft fur. I decided to gently remove my arms from around the small body of my adoptive brother, tenderly stroking his stomach in the process.

"Good morning, Simba, did you have a peaceful sleep?" I asked the cub in a gentle whisper, whose eyes were gently flickering as the light reached his eyes.

"Yeah, it was made better knowing you were there to keep away bad dreams," Simba claimed. I couldn't contain the urge to smile proudly. I was content that my presence could encourage a sense of security.

"What do you wanna do today?" I asked the cub who would one day become King.

"Oh, there's this game that my friends and I like to play, it's called 'Baobab Ball', and you have to retain possession of it for as long as you can," Simba explained the laws of his favourite game.

"Ah, that sounds like fun," I commented. "Let's play it when everyone is awake, yes?" I conditioned my excited and characteristically hyperactive adoptive brother.

"Okay," Simba sighed half-exasperatedly. He wondered why everyone had to wake up at a different hour than himself.

I stretched as I yawned silently, my feet reaching my father's tail, causing me to retract my feet, not wishing to disturb his sleep. I turned my long body as I watched the flood of light fill the cave as the sun ascended through the sky.

My attention was diverted towards Simba, or more specifically, his whiskers brushing against my face. I started stroking the soft fur on his cheek before he announced his intention to seek Nala's company. I accepted and decided to remove myself from my sleeping position and commence my morning routine, which was to brush my teeth with a plain white toothbrush and Colgate toothpaste, using water from a nearby pond to rinse my mouth and clean the brush. My breakfast was a combination of fruits from a range of trees. It was only a small commute to the said locations and by the time I had returned to Pride Rock, I saw that all of Simba's friends had woken up. They were sitting as a group by the entrance of the cave, waiting patiently for my arrival.

"Ah, there he is. Alex, are you coming to play?" Simba asked for my participation in their activity. I assumed it was the sport by the name of 'Baobab Ball' he had earlier explained to me.

"Yeah, lemme just get something," I decided that I needed protection from unfriendly foes. I proceeded to fetch my knife that I had placed in my former sleeping area, but I was stopped in my tracks by a cold sensation by my waist, and a sudden tightening above my pelvis. I looked down to see a belt of brown leather with a buckle of gold had formed around my waist. This was the second item of clothing, after the self-fabricating sandals that my feet slipped into the other day without me noticing at first. On the right-hand side of the belt was a small sheath where a dagger had formed, the cold hilt pressing against my naked torso. I had decided to temporarily discard my dirty grey shirt, intending to clean it at a later time. The temperature would rise rapidly in the savannah, so I decided against wearing a shirt on this day, and settled for a pair of shorts.

I joined Simba's group of friends and followed them to the field of play near the waterhole. The participants of today's round of baobab ball were Nala, Simba's cousins Tama and Tojo and his friends Chumvi and Kula. We decided to assemble near a small forest of baobab trees, and Tama was sent to fetch a baobab fruit.

"So, how do we play this game, and what are the rules of baobab ball?" I searched for an answer from any of the cubs, and it was Simba who responded to my question.

"Basically, you have to keep possession of the ball while everyone else tries to get it off you, by means of tackling only, and only the hind," Simba explained.

"Alex, because you're so tall, you don't need to tackle, you can just gently take it off us," Simba said, and I nodded in agreement and understanding.

"Who is starting?" Nala asked as Tama returned with a baobab fruit about the size of a size one football in her mouth.

"Tama will start," Simba declared, recognizing that it would be sensical for the one who fetched the ball to commence the round of baobab ball. Tama rolled her eyes and grunted in exasperation, not wishing to be the first one to be caught. She accepted that defeat and humiliation were inevitable and immediately dashed off to the south, in the opposite direction to the waterhole.

Everyone gave chase, running as fast as they could to catch up with the future Huntress. My pace was moderate, not entirely pushing myself to my limit. It would not be fair on the cubs if I used my long legs to their full haste.

Nala was the closest to catching Tama, followed by Chumvi, then Simba, then Kula, and Tojo was the last of the cubs. I was running at a consistent and moderate pace just behind Tojo. I saw that Nala was decreasing the gap between herself and Tama, and I refused to draw my gaze away from the imminent exchange of possession. My ears detected Nala's growl as she pounced and tackled her friend. I grimaced as I saw the resulting tumble taking a few seconds to die down. Knowing that lion cubs are pretty resilient and strong beings, I wasn't excessively concerned.

Nala promptly picked up the baobab fruit and almost as swift as a cheetah, she accelerated in a direction that increased her chance of retaining her newfound possession of the baobab fruit. I decided to gently increase my own pace, and as a result, I eventually passed Tojo and Kula.

"C'mon, Simba! Let's see who shall get the ball out of us two!" I challenged my prince brother, and being the competitive cub he was, he gladly accepted the challenge.

"You're on, Alex!" he cried above his own pace, tactically increasing his pace as to prevent the pain he would otherwise endure in his ribs. Soon enough, we both replaced Chumvi in the race to catch Nala.

Over the next few minutes, Simba and I overtook Tama swiftly, and Simba prompted me to use my full pace. However, since some of my energy was already spent in jogging alongside the cubs and was currently being used to pump blood and oxygen around my body, as well as intricate reactions and functions, I could not achieve my greatest pace, which was naturally just short of an Olympic standard sprinter.

"I'm gonna get the ball, Nala!" I taunted the cub, but she was not swayed by fear. She only accelerated to show her fearless and competitive nature. I, in turn, found another gear, and second by second, I closed down the gap between myself and Nala. Even as she changed direction in an attempt to evade me, I somehow developed a fantastic sense of agility, rivalling that of a cheetah.

"Wow, Alex is so fast!" I heard one of Simba's friends behind me comment on my remarkable speed that I had acquired during my time in the Pride Lands. I could not match a logical reason with this sudden ability. Was it also a gift from above? Would I need these abilities to stand a chance at defending my fellow Pridelanders?

Nala's stamina began to drain away, but I decided to attempt to pry the ball from Nala's jaws. However, her will to retain possession was greater than what my muscles could overwhelm. So I decided to twist the rules slightly. I wrapped my hands between Nala's limbs, lifting her high up in the air. She prevented herself from conceding possession of the ball by catching it with her paws after the grip of her jaws loosened through the unexpected flight. She screamed in excitement and playful fear as she flew through the air in my safe hands.

"Let me down, Alex!" she requested.

"Only if you let me have the ball!" I bargained the laughing cub.

"Never!" she declined.

"Okay, you leave me with no choice!" I warned the future queen. I delicately placed her on the grassy earth and tickled her stomach. She howled in laughter but begged me to stop in between breaths. Once she released her grip on the baobab fruit, I ceased to tickle her.

"C'mon guys, let's avenge Nala!" Tama proposed, and her friends agreed. All the cubs ran at me, pounced at my legs and eventually they felled me like a tree.

"Argh, you got me, guys!" I cried for them to end their assault.

"Cubs, be nice to Alex," I heard a motherly voice, and almost immediately, the cubs jumped off of me.

"Oh, hey Sarabi," I smiled at the sight of my adoptive mother approaching myself and the cubs. At least they would respect her authority. The cubs currently see me as a plaything, a foreign wonder.

"Are the cubs treating you nicely?" my lioness mother asked with a chuckle carrying joy and humour in her voice.

"Oh, they're as good as gold," I replied with a hint of sarcasm evident in my voice.

"Everyone, listen to me," Sarabi commanded the cubs, and all paid attention to the Queen.

"In light of recent hyena attacks, all cubs must be accompanied by either one of your mothers or Alex," she announced. The general response from the cubs was negative yet understanding.

"At least we'll be safe with Alex," Simba said. It touched my heart that he was confident to say that.

"Yeah, he saved Simba from the snake while us numpties were too shocked to do anything," Tojo admitted. Such compliments fuelled my pride, but I would not allow my ego to be inflated.

"It really was nothing, it was the least I would have done for any of you," I replied. To my surprise, the cubs surrounded and jumped on me, once again pinning me to the floor under their combined weight. However, instead of trying to nibble my face like earlier, they nuzzled and licked my face.

"Argh! Help! I'm being overwhelmed by tongues!" I cried with a merry chuckle. Eventually, and much longer than I would have preferred, the cubs ended their offerings of affection. I could only grimace and wipe the saliva from my face with my hand.

"Guys, I appreciate it, but no licking! I don't mind the nuzzling, but no licking," I told them.

"Okay, Alex. What else do you wanna do?" Simba asked. In response, I stroked his back and said,

"I want to see what else you guys get up to, you all know how to have fun."

 **A/N: I'm afraid these light-hearted chapters are drawing to a close. For every happy moment, there will always be a sad one, for what is happiness without sadness?** **Anyway, if you liked the chapter, or think I can improve, I would be grateful if you could review constructively, maybe hit the follow/ favourite buttons and look out for the next chapter.**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: These moments of love will slowly transition into moments of despair, so we'd better make the most of them.**

I spent many hours partaking in Simba's activities with his friends, some of which were not members of his species. The fact that Mufasa and his ancestors ruled in respect of the Circle of Life had allowed carnivores and herbivores to co-exist in peace and friendship. This harmonious relationship ensured that the Pride Lands had retained its beauty for the entirety of the many long years since the Dark Days. I was told that the 'Dark Days' was a period in which evil dominated that which was good in this world. It began with the assassination of the last King of the First Age of the Pride Lands, Mwisho the Last. I learned from Rafiki that these days included a famine that brought suffering and unending hunger to the Pride Lands, and there were many battles for control of the Kiburi Plateau. However, the desire for possession of the Pride Lands diminished as the years grew longer. There was less chance of recovering the Pride Lands at the hands of common lions. Only those born from the Line of Kiburi, which itself was apparently the making of the Gods which the Pridelanders believe in, could reclaim the throne of the Pride Lands. After many long years of darkness, the Line of Kiburi was restored when the First King of the Second Age of the Pride Lands, whose name was Kwanza. He was the four-time great-grandfather of Simba. According to Rafiki, Simba had exceptionally holy ancestry, and that was the reason he gave me that lions of the Line of Kiburi could live for as long as a human, and sometimes even more.

I had asked Rafiki how old Mufasa was, and his answer was '10 years old,' and to which I replied with a further comment.

 _"Mufasa and Sarabi had Simba at a relatively old age, compared to other lions."_

 _"Yes, but... there is something I would tell you, but you are not yet ready to learn the reason," Rafiki responded to my observation._

 _"So, you said that Ahadi died at the age of eight years, yet Uru, who_ was _of holy descent but died at the age of nine years," I searched for an explanation of Uru's early demise._

 _"Unfortunately, after Ahadi's passing, her heart was broken beyond repair, and to add to her misery and suffering, her youngest son was also lost that day, and the lion known as Scar returned from the tragic incident," Rafiki explained with a sad and hopeless tone, having lost hope of Taka's return many moons before._

As I recalled one of my Pride Lands history lessons, Simba called for my attention and encouraged me to follow him to a favourite destination of his: a cave to the south of Pride Rock.

An uncomfortable rush of warm irritation caused by sweat plagued my upper back. What caused this, you may ask? I had a fear of dark and enclosed spaces.

"Uh, yeah... about that," I stuttered. Simba sighed in disappointment.

"Did Mom or Dad tell you to dictate my adventure?" Simba asked in frustration. He wondered how he was expected to develop as a ruler if he was always restricted by his parents. He appreciated that he was being protected, but it was at the expense of his growth as a personality.

"No, no... it's just that..." I stumbled across the words I spoke at an awkward length. I was afraid of being judged by the cubs who were unlikely to understand the reason for my fear. When I was a child, I had several nightmares in which they always ended with me being trapped in a small, dark and enclosed space, only to wake up a second before being swallowed by the darkness. These nightmares were borne from a time when I was lost in a cave while on holiday in Wales.

I ridiculed myself for being afraid, as a twenty-one-year-old man, of the judgement of lion cubs and decided that the first step to conquering my fear was to accept it and admit it to the world.

"I'm afraid of dark, enclosed spaces," I admitted, and my answer was met with what I feared would come to pass.

Laughter. Howls of laughter, ridiculing me. It sounded as if more people were laughing at me by the second. The cubs thought the idea that a tall, mighty and brave human was afraid of anything at all was one of the funniest conceptions that they had ever heard. I looked down at my crossed legs in my sitting position in shame. However, there were two cubs who were not howling. My adopted brother and future sister-in-law.

"Guys, stop being mean," Nala demanded the cubs who were howling like hyenas.

"Don't worry, Alex," Simba nuzzled my cheek, encouraging to raise my head.

"I share your fear, human brother," Simba revealed to my mild shock.

"What?" I requested for confirmation.

"I too am afraid of the things that darkness hides, but I wanted you to lead me into the caves, but that now seems unlikely," Simba said.

"Don't listen to these knuckleheads," Nala assured me.

"Thank you for your understanding, you two," I stroked the heads of the two cubs. An idea then entered my mind in which I could make this negative moment into a positive and productive.

"Why don't we go there, all of us?" I suggested to the confusion of the cubs.

"But Alex, we're both afraid of the darkness," Simba reminded me of our joint revelation that took place only seconds before.

"Exactly, we can help each other overcome our fears," I encouraged the sceptical cub.

"That's a great idea, Alex," Nala piped up with her agreement.

* * *

"This is not a great idea," Nala announced her opinion upon the arrival of the two cubs and the human at the mouth of the cave.

"Well, this is perhaps the only way to remove the fear from your mind, unless you want Rafiki to beat it out of you instead," Simba chuckled.

"What do we wait for? We must return before the sun sinks beyond the horizon," Alex announced.

"Ladies first," Nala directed a tease towards Simba, to which he responded by sticking his tongue out at her. Eventually, Simba summoned the courage to advance and lead the small company into the unknown darkness.

"How far shall we go?" Simba asked as his voice developed an echo.

"As far as you feel comfortable," Alex promised his brother.

The trio carefully advanced further into the cave, Alex had to increasingly rely on the direction of the lion cubs, who bore the superior eyesight.

"Okay, where do I hold onto?" Alex asked where he should place his hand for the greatest stability while wandering in the blackness.

"Move your hand upwards and forwards a bit," Nala instructed the human, who was now hunched to allow himself to advance further into the cave.

"Am I going to step on someone's tail?" Alex feared to hurt the cubs, even slightly.

"No, you're good," Simba called back from a few metres ahead.

"Oh, you're well ahead, heh," Alex chuckled at his lack of pace.

"Ow!" Simba whispered aggressively to my concern. He must have hurt himself, but Alex feared that he would not be able to discern the severity of his injury.

"You okay?" Alex quickly asked the cub, hoping that the cub's injury left no mark or physical burden.

"Yeah, just stepped on a sharp stone," Simba replied. As they progressed further into the cave, the walls of the cave seemed to close in on Alex, and he now had to crawl on my hands and knees. The rough terrain was uncomfortable on my fleshless knees, and the texture of the floor of the cave left harsh and painful indentations on my palms. There was no sweetness in the air, only a dank and wet atmosphere. It impacted on my ability to breathe properly.

"Oh, I really don't like this..." he gasped for air that I did not wish to take in. To him, the air was filled with the poisonous fume of panic and fear riddled with foul gases and oozing smells.

"It's okay, Alex, just relax," Nala offered her support. Alex couldn't find a comfortable breathing pattern to relax with.

"Oh, stars above, I have a bad feeling about this..." Alex cried. His breathing became laborious, and each inhale was tougher than the last, and before it could cause him pain, the tall human collapsed onto his side, almost falling upon Nala, who jumped out of his path just in time.

* * *

There was no change in the amount of light I could see, but what was evident was the decrease in labour I had to endure when I was breathing. My panic attack was concluded with me falling unconscious, I had deduced. This had never happened to me prior, even when I was in an unfavourable environment beyond the discovery of my fear. Was this a sign that my attacks would grow more severe? Or was this an isolated incident due to the education of my powers and responsibilities.

"Alexander..." a voice carried by air surrounded me. I could not detect the origin of the voice. It was not near, nor was it far.

"You have a destiny beyond comprehension, therefore, you will not be told what it is, but you shall be given the tools and abilities you require to fulfil it," the voice explained. I could not discern a suitable gender to assign the voice. It was gentle yet at a depth of either gender.

As I attempted to observe my lightless environment, I saw several images of a variety of objects and scenes. One of them was a vision of someone walking up the peak of Pride Rock, an otherwise impossible task without unnatural ability. Is this a vision of my future, or but a taste of the powers of my fore Guardians.

"Now you shall wake with the ability to see all that is concealed by darkness, but not that which is dark by nature," the voice said, and suddenly, I felt as if I was pulled forward at a great speed, and I tried to make a vocal reaction, but I could not hear my own voice, not even feel the chords in my throat. I was awake.

* * *

Simba and Nala yelped in fright as I gasped for air. I did not know how long I was unconscious for, initially, I had predicted that I had been in my comatose state through the night, considering I could see the walls of the cave as if the light of the sun was painted upon it. However, the memory of the gift I had been given in my vision had come to my mind, and I knew that this was my gift in action. I could now no longer know what an area touched by shadow would look like. Should I be sad about this? My biological father always said that there can be no happiness without sadness, success without failure or light without shadow. What I would know is the shadow that is not natural.

"Are you okay, Alex?" Simba asked, fearing if I was going to succumb to another attack in this place.

"How long was I out for?" I asked.

"Not even five seconds," Nala answered to my surprise. It felt to me that I was unconscious for about half a minute, but evidently, it was not so.

"Shall we return to Pride Rock, now?" Simba asked. He wished to inform his friends and family of his experience in the cave.

"Yeah, the hours draw towards dusk," I replied.

"Do you need help?" Nala offered her navigation and coordination services. However, with my newly acquired ability.

"No, actually, while I was unconscious, I had this vision... and somehow, I have been gifted the ability to see through shadow," I explained. The cubs made their astonishment and confusion vocally explicit.

"Does that mean you can see better than us?" Simba asked.

"Well, at least at night, though I'm not yet sure exactly how it works," I admitted my obvious inexperience.

"That must be awesome," Simba imagined being able to see everything in a constant light, no matter what the hour of the day was.

"Yeah, maybe," I remembered my father's saying.

 **A/N: What other gifts and powers will Alex acquire? We will find out over the course of the narrative.**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: Another flashback, another testament to Alex's future power.**

"Alex, are you listening to me?"

I forced my eyes open. I heard a voice that I had not heard for at least a week. It was the voice of my brother, but it was the voice of his sixteen-year-old self.  
I found myself resting my head on the cold window of the bus that transported me, my brother, the children of our neighbours and friends from our nearest bus stop to school.

I was in yet another dream.

Since the fateful summer day in 2005, I was nervous when travelling in buses. I had refused to use the bus as a method of transport for about three years, opting instead to use either the Underground or a taxi with either of my parents. However, the death of my mother was the catalyst for my developing maturity and need to face my fears.

"Sorry, I drifted off there, what were you saying?" I asked. My memory of this moment was a little hazy and so I required exposition.

"I was saying about the biology assessment we were doing today," Lewis said. This sentence was the catalyst that allowed me to finally find the memory of this moment, and it belonged to a day that contained an event to this day I question its true happening.

"You do know what we're doing, right?" Lewis questioned my readiness for the task.

"Y-yeah," I responded unconvincingly. My brother sighed in exasperation. I admit, sometimes I would fail him with my lack of preparedness, and in which I held no pleasure in doing, even in a comic manner.

"We're writing an essay on evolution," Lewis provided an unintentional reminder, having assumed that I had remembered at least the topic of the essay. Unfortunately, since the day it had been announced, the memory had lapsed due to the release of the superhero film 'Iron Man' at the local cinema. Instead of revising through my knowledge of the subject of the essay, I had spent my weekend engaging in an activity that could have been delayed to make way for the week I should have spent revising.

"Am I going to tell you what you must write... again?" Lewis concluded for himself with frustration poisoning his voice.

"Y-yeah..." I replied sheepishly. It was difficult to accept help as a man in this culture. It was not expected of men in this British society to accept emotional or physical support. We were expected to retain a 'stiff upper lip', and therefore, me initially staying quiet about my P.T.S.D. almost lead to my self-destruction. My family and friends had noticed a stark contrast in my personality following the terror attack, from the child who loved to explore and explicitly showed his love for his family and friends to a quiet and sometimes agitated teenager, who developed unproductive habits and turned into an introvert. I had learned that it was okay to talk and that no matter how bad one's situation is, there is always hope.

As the bus stopped and started through the morning rush hour, Lewis explained to me his plan and structure for the essay. Eventually, just as he concluded explaining his plan, the bus arrived at the closest bus stop to the school, which was a bland, nothing stop. It was only ever used for outbound journeys towards the school and was never used to get further into the city. There was no shelter or even timetable, just a dented sign and discoloured letter sign, which had turned a few shades lighter than the bright red it once was.

"You up for a quick game of football at either break or lunch?" I asked my brother. While football was not his primary concern, and therefore did not dedicate as much time to playing it, he was a decent competitor and competent technically. He enjoyed playing the sport but tended to dedicate more time to his studies and homework. I would argue that he should do homework at home instead, hence the name, but he would counter that to working on his homework wherever and whenever was the key to completing homework as quickly as possible. I did not agree, I believed that one should exact a balance between studies and leisure. However, my brother was stubborn, and to argue further would be futile.

"Maybe, it depends if we are set further homework," Lewis' reply was conducive to my prediction.

We joined a group of our friends in walking towards the main building, for there was the venue of our first lesson. However, our usual route would take us past an alley that was notorious for being the territory of the local 'roadmen'. This group of lowlifes consisted mainly of people who failed to achieve the grades required to progress to college and they believed that picking on children made them tough and fearsome. I saw past their exterior and saw them for idiotic and pathetic. We made our way past the alley carefully, fearing if the group was actually there, or still in their beds. It appeared that the latter was true, but seemingly out of nowhere, a few of the members of the gang jumped from the flat rooves of the two rows of garages that formed the alley. One each side, the men edged closer to us, causing the group to become denser and more compressed.

"Yo, Ade, what do we have here?" a tall black man sporting a full tracksuit and emitting a horrific stench of drugs and alcohol asked his associate. He was holding his hand against something around his back area. I wondered if it was him holding his oversized trousers in place, but in reality, it was something much more sinister.

"Y'know what, G? It looks like we got a bunch of ponce white boys," the man is known as Ade, who was equally tall, intimidating and awfully dressed, answered.

"Y'know, I think these pipsqueaks can help us with a little problem we have," the man known as G said.

"Yeah, man. We come from poor families, and I reckon these kids' fathers had a say in that," Ade bounced off the words of his friend.

"If you lot could be so kind as to help us out, you would bring honour to your mummies and daddies," G said with a mock curtsy.

"Like the honour you brought to your families when you dropped out of high school?" Lewis countered, and while it was an admirable showing of bravery and wit, it actually brought him further to harm.

Having been greatly offended by Lewis, Ade grabbed him by his tie, only to pick him up by the neck and restricting the amount of oxygen that could pass through his windpipe.

"No, stop!" I cried, almost rushing to push Ade down. My friends struggled to restrain me from potentially aggravating the situation.

"How dare you? Our people have struggled every day since the day your people found us, enslaved us, and through your fake equality, we remain below you in this society by your design," Ade yelled in the face of my brother.

My brother gasped and writhed against the wall he was held against. His captor reached behind his back, and from his baggy tracksuit jacket, he revealed an enormous knife. My heart fell to my stomach.

"Let's teach this little shit what it means to cross us. Let us give him a reminder of this day that will last forever," Ade's accomplice suggested, and Ade nodded in agreement.

The knife moved ever closer to penetrating the skin of my brother. If I did nothing, I would never forgive myself. However, I felt within me something brewing, something fueled by rage and fear, I knew not if it was natural or otherwise, and it terrified me. Something told me that I would have to unleash whatever this internal energy was to save my brother from being wounded. I didn't know how to unleash it, but the thought of blood being drawn from Lewis triggered the energy within, and after that, everything became a blur in which I could see nothing but blue. I felt myself moving at a great speed, I felt my arms hit something several times. It took a few seconds, and then I felt something sharp come into contact with my abdominal area, and then my vision turned to normal, and the scene that beheld me took my breath. Lewis was on the floor, coughing heavily and gasping for air that his lungs were deprived of for what I guessed was a minute.

I looked down the alley, and I saw one of the gang members leaning on the other as they both limped down the alley.

"What the hell happened?" I asked my friends, who all bore faces of dumbfoundedness and utter shock.

"Well, you sort of beat them up... but in a manner I didn't think was humanly possible," Connor Stephens said.

"Alex, you're bleeding!" another of my friends, Nicholas Johnson, gasped. I looked down to the bright red patch that stained the white shirt that I wore beneath the school's blazer. I rapidly unbuttoned the bottom few buttons to see how bad the apparent wound was. However, when I lifted the shirt, there was no injury. Only clear, peachy skin that gave no indication that it was cut. Did the blood belong to the people who confronted us? The way the blood had formed on my shirt would suggest that it was my blood that was drawn.

* * *

The day passed as usual for my friends, but for me, I could not concentrate on my studies. I barely subsidised enough concentration to complete the essay. It resulted in me achieving a lower grade than what was expected of me. My teachers and family noticed the change. They decided that it was not my P.T.S.D., for therapy sessions had helped to alleviate the tight grip it had on my life. I hadn't had a suicidal thought or nervous breakdown in a year. I tortured myself having to keep the secret. I wasn't sure if revealing my strange phenomenon would expose me to possible exploitation or unwanted attention.

I hadn't heard of the fate of the people who attacked Lewis. However, I would come across more gangsters who were associated with them.

I was returning from an executing an errand set by my father to purchase groceries from the local supermarket. Any logical route I would take would always lead me to an alley known to be the territory of the gang that had attacked Lucas. Therefore, I made my way to the supermarket via a different route, one that would lead me to a disused railway bridge that was converted to a public footpath, and from there, I would take the footpath and it would lead me to the supermarket. While it made my journey six minutes longer, it made me feel safer.

However, as I made my way to enter the automatic doors, my iPhone vibrated in the pocket of my jeans. As I was crossing the main road into the car park, I waited before I could check what notification that my iPhone had alerted me too. Stepping into a shadowed area beneath a canopy so that the brightness of the screen would not be cancelled out by the sunlight, I extracted my smartphone, and as I unlocked it, I saw that the notification was a text message from my brother.

'alex get home now need hlp'

I knew this to be unlike what my brother would usually type. He would always text in the correct grammar and use correct spellings, appropriate and politically correct terminology. Something was very wrong, and he was evidently pressured to submit the text. I disregarded my original task, checked the road to see if any oncoming cars would delay me.

I ran.

I pushed my thighs into the ground with every stride, and ran like an Olympic sprinter. I cared not if I looked out of order, but for all I knew at that moment, my brother could have been in trouble. As I rounded the corner onto the main road, even as the vehicles were travelling at the speed limit, at a time when the roads were relatively clear considering the city in which I lived, I ran at a greater speed than they were permitted to travel. I did not then heed it, but thinking about it now, I would compare the phenomenon to the two times in which my family in the Pride Lands had been endangered.

I took the usual route, wanting to get to my home as soon as possible. I thought of the quickest way for me to extract my keys and to put them into the keyhole.  
However, as I approached the infamous alley, a man remained in my path even as I grew rapidly closer. I decelerated, not wishing to crash into him, cause anyone undue pain and cause a hindrance to my pursuit. However, by the time I had stopped, I was standing face to face with the man. I could see now that he was wearing a grey hoodie, with the hood covering his eyes. I could see that he had dark skin and was holding his hands behind his back.

"C'mon, man. I need to help my brother," I revealed, unsure why I went into such private detail.

"Let me help you with that," he offered. However, I immediately knew this offer to be false, as he extracted a bladed article from his back, pointed it at me and motioned for me to walk into the alley. It was floored with poorly laid tarmac, the gaps through which grew weeds.

As I walked further into the alley, we came to an intersection with another alley. It was lined on the left with garage doors, most of which had obscene graffiti, and to the right was an equally decorated wall. I saw at the end of the alley a car, and I heard that the engine was running. My eyes came upon a group of hoodlums, one of which had a baseball bat, another had a gun. When I saw this, my heart sank, like it did the other day.

"Sup man? So kind of you to join us," one of the hoodlums said with mock sincerity.

"Fuck you," I bluntly replied, unsure if this would land me in a deeper hole of trouble than I was at that moment.

"Oh, now that won't do. Your parents wouldn't want to hear you saying that now, would they?" the man who forced me to walk down the alley said. I flipped him off.

"My mother's dead."

"Oh, shit, man, I'm sorry," the man behind me said with a surprising amount of sympathy.

"Enough of this. You disrespected us. And now, you are going to pay. Literally."

"Ain't that right, Ade?" the gun-wielding hoodlum spoke up.

"What do you want? Money?" I guessed.

"Nah, that won't do. We want to humiliate you. We see you as an opportunity, we want everyone to know that we are fed up with white boys like you bossing us about like it's the 1950s. We're tired of being at the back of the queue, we're tired of being ignored, we're tired of seeing people like you, thinking you're Mr Tony Stark while we act as the floor you walk upon," the man known as Ade spoke.

"Well, what good will that do if you do it here? Why not do it somewhere like Trafalgar Square?" I questioned them, hoping to buy time.

"Let's see how you like it when you're forced to make the hard decisions," the bat-wielding hoodlum said as he opened the garage in the path of the car.

To my utter horror, I saw my brother tied to a chair, bleeding from the nose and a wound on his head. There was much blood on his white shirt and light blue jeans. His blonde hair corrupted by scarlet.

"What the fuck?" I cried. I heard Lewis' pained muffled cry for me.

"I'll make it simple for you. We do to you what we did to your brother, or that car over there goes a little too far in the garage."

At first, it seemed that my choice was impossible. I did not know how badly they would assault me. They claimed that they would replicate the severity of their attack on Lucas.

"Alright then. Hit me, do your worst," I baited them. I wondered if the incident in which my world turned blue and had successfully fended off the attackers would manifest itself once more. However, I am one who will fight back.

I caught in my palm a fist that attempted to fight me. I countered by punching him in the face.

The bat-wielding hoodlum swung his weapon, but not before I could dodge it and redirect it into his face.

Having seen the pathetic performance of his soldiers, the leader of the gang ordered for his remaining soldiers to advance.

"C'mon, he's just a kid!" he cried.

"I suppose you feel so tough right now," I mocked. They only felt tough enough to batter weak and defenceless children who would not fight back.

I fought off the attackers until there were too many of them to fight. Three became four, five became six. I was soon on the floor being kicked repeatedly and mercilessly. Was this what my brother had endured before they kidnapped him? His appearance would not suggest that he was attacked for as long as I was.

"Yo, that's enough," I heard one of them say.

"Now for the icing on the cake. We never got to prick him, so let's prick you," Ade decided. I felt numb. I could not move. I was covered in a veil of pain.

I felt something cold and sharp penetrate my stomach. Something inside of me broke and my world turned blue once more.

A monstrous urge inside of me made me scream. The urge was fueled by my desire to protect my brother. My scream was loud enough for them to cover their ears.

My scream seemed to replenish my energy and I got up to incapacitate my foes. A punch was enough to send them flying back by ten feet. What action I did do, I did it at a speed that I had not yet experienced. I effortlessly dispatched my attackers without knowing what I was doing. It was as if I had unlocked years worth of skills and training with a snap of a finger.

As I continued to incapacitate them, the gun-wielding hoodlum aimed at me, his fear causing his arms to tremble.

 _BANG_

I felt the bullet penetrate my lower back. I felt it cut through my flesh and exit my body. I could see the bullet drop to the floor, coated in my blood, but as I looked down to examine my wound, but I saw that it was closing before my very eyes. Fresh skin replaced the damaged flesh and the stream of blood that was leaving the wound was ended.

I turned around to see the last gangsters run for their lives. They would be wise to leave my family alone, and that is what they did.

However, as the unnatural energy began to leave my body, I heard the engine of the car revving up and accelerate. They were going to crush my brother.

"NO!" I cried as I ran towards the intersection. My pace was not to its fullest extent as it was earlier, but it was still greater than what I was used to.

I did arrive at the intersection, but at the same moment, so did the car. I crept down into the fetal position to brace the impact.

The car ploughed into me, but the replenished super energy increased my strength to withstand the momentum, so much so that it performed the first half of a front flip before the ground got in the way.

However, despite my strength, the impact took a toll on me. While I did stop the car, the momentum did cause me to fall onto my side and I was left fighting to regain consciousness. However, it was a losing battle as I fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Alex?" Sarabi asked me as my eyes gently opened.

"Alex, are you okay?" Simba asked, nuzzling my cheek. I stroked him as I adjusted my body to face them respectfully.

"Yeah... just another dream," I replied with weariness poisoning my voice.

"You were making weird... growly noises in your sleep," Simba said.

"Do not worry, my brother. I'm fine," I kissed him on the forehead.

"Do you want to play with me and my friends again?" Simba asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah, sure," I accepted to Simba's delight. "Let me just get ready."

Simba ran off to find his friends while I chose the clothes that I would wear that day. As I was intending on visiting my relatives in South Africa for a few nights, my clean clothes were beginning to run thin. However, as I clothed myself with a vest and a pair of shorts, I remembered my brief interval between two periods of sleep during the previous night. The first spell culminated in a dream in which I was surrounded by fire, holding onto a tall cliff with my left hand. I looked below and saw before me an endless abyss of fire and darkness. I looked up again and saw a shadowy figure in the form of a lion and to my horror, the hand that kept me alive disappeared.

I recovered from the dream by drinking water and observing the stars from inside the cave. It was then that I remembered that, unlike the cave, where I could see as if light was flooding through it, whereas Simba and Nala, who had the advanced eyesight of their species, could not see, the lack of light was conducive with the time of day and the environment in which I was sitting. I also remembered my vision in which the voice told me that I would see through the darkness that was not natural.

I concluded that there was a darkness that was not natural in that cave, or at least near it, and it did not wish to be seen.

* * *

"My loyal lieutenant," Ibilisi's spirit spoke. While he was sitting on his dark throne in his dark tower, his human form was not a physical entity that interacted with the world of the living. He was but a spirit but was very much powerful.

"Yes, my Lord?" Scar answered.

"It is time for you to disrupt the path of The Guardian. His growth shall be thwarted by your interruption of the monarchy. I bid you good fortune in your pursuit for the Pride Lands," Ibilisi declared.

"I am grateful, my Lord. No longer shall we hide in the shadows while the weak are protected by the foolish. They shall soon see that the powerful are meant to control, the weak are meant to serve, those who defy will be destroyed. Long may you rule over the Universe," Scar bowed before leaving the Dark Tower to execute his plan. He headed in the direction of the gorge where his father died. He intended to rid the world of the Royal Family.

 **A/N: Well, then. Looks like the plot is about to take a turn for the worse. Brace yourself for emotions for the next few chapters.**


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Well, I warned you enough, and now here comes the turning point in the narrative. What exactly is going to happen? Well, there's one thing to do: read on...**  
 **I mean, uh... please... if you want... thanks.**

I had observed Simba and his friends play a game adjacent to the waterhole in which they dramatised one of the most famous battles in the history of the Pride Lands. It involved Simba's great-grandfather, Mohatu, who apparently fought off a group of rogues on his own. Simba was playing the role of Mohatu, for he was proud to be a descendant of the former king who was regarded as one of the greatest in the Second Age of the Pride Lands.

The sun was at such a strength that I decided to fetch a drink of water. I went to the spring that fed the waterhole to fill my plastic bottle. Before I could take a sip of water, I was disturbed by a voice that almost made me choke on the water.

"Alex..." I looked behind me and saw that it was Dhamiri.

"Dhamiri? What have you to tell me now?" I asked. I knew that she would not come unto me unless there was a major doubt in my mind.

"I have come to you to warn of an unforeseen event. It appears that Ibilisi has been called far ealier than expected, and he has answered this call and will look for vengeance upon those who have wronged him. He will stop at nothing to achieve his goal of universal domination. He wishes to rule the cosmos, and maybe other universes in his image. And there are few who have the power and the will to prevent this fate. All but one are Gods, and that 'one'... is you. You will soon endure a great tragedy that may tear the kingdom apart. You must stay true to yourself and remain loyal to those who love you, for the future is dense in treachery and corruption,"  
she explained. There was a doubt in my heart that this current equilibrium would last. As my father said, for every moment of happiness and peace, there shall always be a moment of suffering and turmoil.

"What is this tragedy you speak of? Is it preventable?" I asked. I doubted with my current strength that I could successfully prevent a tragedy that needed to be forwarned.

"I'm afraid this tragedy always happens, in whatever reality or dimension, yet you may be able to change the outcome. However, as the spirit of Ibilisi manifests, fate is growing more unpredictable. My advice is to make good use of what time you have with your new family. Your life will again be forever changed in the coming days. You may feel more isolated than ever before, but you must remember those who love you, and they shall support you, in more ways than one," Dhamiri said.

"Thank you for warning me. I shall heed your advice," I promised. Already, I intended on creating happy memories with my family and teaching my adopted brother and future sibling the ways of kindness and wisdom. I blinked and Dhamiri disappeared. I blinked again.

Suddenly, what I saw utterly changed from the bright, fertile kingdom with tall, green grass and a plethora of lively animals, to a dark, desolate realm devoid of any life at all. I was perplexed. I blinked again, and my vision returned to normal. Was this some preview of the future? An omen of the fate of this kingdom?  
It was horrible to behold, but unfortunately, when I blinked once more, and what I saw took my breath away. It almost made me cry, even though I knew it was not the true reality of my world. I was in the canyon in which I survived the plane accident, and dust and mist clouded my vision. I waited for the mist to pass, but I wished for a sight more pleasant to behold to me what I then saw. I saw a lifeless corpse of a once mighty lion, riddled with bruises and cuts. His once golden-brown fur stained with crimson blood,  
his mighty mane tainted with dust and dirt. I could not see the face of the lion, but a small voice in my mind told me who it was.

'The one who saved you from yourself was the one who rekindled your love for life and the people in it.'

As I rounded the lion to see his face, I gasped and felt imbalance in my legs, weakened by grief, for I recognised the face of Mufasa. Would this mean that Mufasa was to die?  
The one who had adopted me, regarded me as a worthy character to continue the legacy of himself and his ancestors, the one I was meant to protect? Would I be prepared for this? I was warned by my consciousness that tragedy would come to pass, but nothing can prepare one for the tragedy itself. There is no greater pain than having a loved one dragged away from your life against your will. You could wish to sacrifice your destiny, but it would change nothing. I have learned that the best way to deal with such a tragedy is to live on in a way that your loved one would wish for you to live.

As my thoughts of grief and destiny manifested, a harrowing thought came to my mind.

Am I a herald of woe? Has my arrival prompted fate to accelerate beyond remedy? Is my coming to this place a doom upon the kingdom? Would people harm those who I love to avenge people whom this kingdom may wrong? Is this what is best for anyone?

I dispelled these thoughts from my mind. I would not allow this avalanche of negativity to create a wavel of doubt to wash away what hope I possess. I was the only one who could defeat Ibilisi, and I should not put my interests ahead of the interests of the majority. I would only be content with the fall of the kingdom if the rest of the universe was to prosper.  
Selfishness will not serve me well in a time when I must trust those who wish to sacrifice their hopes and dreams to protect my destiny. People will die for me, as people have died for Guardians before me. I accept that, but I would not accept the inability to see a greater picture than what my eyes see before me.

I failed to hear the cubs ending their game, and only did they earn my attention when they approached me, having seen that my expression suggested that my mind was not focused on them.

"Alex, are you okay?" Simba asked. I smiled at his concern. While I accepted my role in this world, I was still proud to have a caring, selfless, smart and handsome brother. I saw much in him that reminded me of Lewis. I hoped that my disappearance did not steal from him the ability to enjoy the world as we had done for many years.

"Yes, Simba. I'm just... thinking," I replied as I stroked his head.

"Thinking about what, exactly?" he asked. His curious nature would often cause him to wander paths of knowledge that their keepers would not wish him to venture.

"Human stuff," I pretended, sighing as I rose to walk towards the waterhole. The heat was as strong as ever, and while I had adapted to the advanced temperature, I still required hydration. I still had on me my plastic bottle, which was slightly filled up. Even though the water was shared by different species, the water seemed remarkably clear, despite the obvious risk of contamination. The water still tasted fresh, was as clear as water could be, and nourished me without any defects.

"Alex, tell us again how you beat up those bullies," Tojo requested.

"Yeah, and how you stopped that 'car' with your own body!" Tama added.

"I already told you twice!" I reminded the cubs who spoke. They giggled.

"Yeah, but it's worth telling more than twice. Are humans really that strong?" Tojo questioned.

"No, I don't really know how I wasn't injured more severely than I was," I commented.

"I can't believe all that was done to you by the impact was a concussion and a bruised rib," Nala said.

"Me neither."

As we made the return journey to Pride Rock, the cubs asked my opinion of Simba's dramatisation of Mohatu's battle with the rogues.

"Alex, did you see that awesome move that I made to take out Chumvi?" Simba asked. The move which Simba referred to involved Simba deflecting Chumvi's attempt at pouncing on him with his hind legs, sending Chumvi flying a few feet beyond the chocolate-coloured cub's target.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool, though perhaps a bit dangerous," I commented.

"Oh, you humans! Always on about health and safety!" Chumvi retorted.

"Alex?" Simba asked me.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"How do humans fight? What would you do without those weapons you had?" Simba enquired.

"Well... humans can fight pretty efficiently if they have sufficient training, skill and strength. I've been training with Rafiki, and I've become a better fighter than I was when I lived in London, even with my... sorta 'rage mode'," I concluded my explanation with a chuckle. I wondered how much progress I would make during my time in the Pride Lands. Would I become as skilled a fighter as those spies you see in superhero films? I would be content with the ability to divert villains from those who I am to protect.

"Interesting..." Simba said.

* * *

"Harder!"

I punched with an increased amount of ferocity in my fist and adjusted my position to increase the strength of my blows against a magically-crafted mannequin made of a durable material. My goal was to dent the mannequin, and I was halfway to fulfilling that goal. I was training in hand-to-hand combat with Rafiki and had increased my skills in punching,  
disarming and general incapacitation. Rafiki had crafted a course of targets that I had to dispose of with a range of my skills put to the test, and now I was punching a faceless mannequin. My body was drenched in sweat as my effort and the heat bearing down from the sun upon my exposed skin caused me to lose strength eventually.

"Stop!" Rafiki instructed. He clicked his fingers and the mannequin disappeared. I collapsed in exhaustion.

"You cannot allow yourself to deplete your strength. You are not fighting economically," Rafiki told me off.

"I know..." I sighed, still on the floor.

"You cannot use your hatred to fuel your strength. You must use your love for those you shall defend to fight your foes," Rafiki lectured.

"I know this... I know, but there is still too much conflict in my heart," I said.

"Do you think your opponents will care about your emotions? You must put them aside and focus on defeating your opponent."

I accepted Rafiki's wisdom but struggled to see how I would progress from a breathless man laying in a tree to a great warrior defending a kingdom of lions. It would be worthy of an epic folktale.

"I have faith in you, Alex. I will teach you to have faith in yourself, and to train you to fight for those you love instead of against those you hate."

* * *

"C'mon, Simba. It's time to go to sleep," I called for my lion brother. He was currently playing tag outside with Chumvi, Tama and Tojo. He had requested for extensions to his deadline to finish his game, but had surpassed each and every one of them and failed. While he had a noble heart filled with love, compassion, selflessness and bravery, he was prone to curiosity and disobedience. I was very weary after a long day of training with Rafiki and participating with Simba and his friends in their activities, and wanted to fall asleep,  
so I decided to fetch Simba myself, and when Simba saw that I was approaching, he commanded his friends to distract me by pouncing at my legs. However, my intent to fetch Simba and hug him lovingly as we fell asleep was greater than my weariness, and they failed to successfully delay me in achieving my goal.

Eventually, after much more pursuing than I had wished, I had caught Simba. To celebrate, I held him close to my face, and he nuzzled me.

"C'mon, you little tyke, it's beyond late for little cubs like you," I chuckled as I delivered him to his parents. I set myself beside them and they nuzzled me as I adjusted my position to maximise everyone's comfort.

"Goodnight, Alex," Mufasa wished.

"Goodnight... Dad," I said reluctantly. It felt strange calling a lion who was half my age 'Dad', but it felt right.

"Goodnight, mother," I said to Sarabi, and I saw that she smiled.

"Goodnight, my human son," she replied.

Simba moved over to me and rested himself under my arm, and I brought him closer to my body and wrapped my arms around him. He nuzzled my cheek as I stroked his neck and back gently.

"Goodnight, Simba," I whispered in his ear.

"Goodnight, Alex."

I slept once more without any disturbance. No dream. Nothing. I woke up as I felt the warmth of the sun fill the cave. Simba was still in my arms, he appeared to have moved little from the position in which he fell asleep. He was as cute as ever.

I gently got up to my feet without disturbing Simba, or anyone else, for that matter. I fetched my toothbrush and toothpaste from my suitcase and went to the nearby pond once more to brush my teeth. They remained a healthy shade of pearly white, but I decided to dedicate some time to properly cleanse myself. I hadn't had a properly nourishing shower since the day of the plane crash, and that was over a week ago. I brought with me my flannel and a towel to the pond and bathed myself in the clean water. I felt much fresher as I left the pool, but I would receive a fright as I emerged from the water.

"Oh, God! You could have at least alerted me of your arrival!" I said to the cub who had arrived. The cub was Simba. I covered myself with the towel in embarrasment.

"What happened to your skin? Did you shed it or something?" he asked, causing me initial confusion, but then we both looked at the pile of clothes beside the pool.

"Oh, those are my clothes. Humans wear them to keep us at a comfortable temperature. In human culture, it's not exactly appropriate to not wear clothes in public," I explained to the curious cub, who was investigating my clothes. I deduced that he could detect my scent on them. He felt the softness of the material of my shirt with his face, and to him, it felt kind to feel.

While I would prefer to protect my fragile skin against the elements, I had grown accustomed to not wearing my shirt due to the raw temperature in this climate, and the feel of the air blowing against my skin was refreshing. I decided against dressing myself in the same shirt. Simba appeared to enjoy the soft fabric and the odour had a friendly familiarity. I adorned myself with clean clothes, and by the time I had completed my morning routine, many animals were now awake. They would bow to me as they saw me, and I humbly waved at them in response.

"Alex, do you want to take part in playfighting with my friends?" Simba asked.

"Okay," I simply replied. "I'll go easy on you," I chuckled.

* * *

The hours passed as swift and enjoyable moments. I had participated in Simba's round of playfighting with his friends. I spent most of it being piled upon by the cubs. It was apparent that they had accepted me into their circle of friendship. I was one of at least ten people to have bonded with lions, and they would have understood that lions are as 'human' as we are. They wish to live a pleasant life and understand the need for sustainability.

There was a part of my heart that warned me of the coming tragedy. If it was so that Mufasa would die, it was my assumption that this would be a tragedy that came too soon for Simba, and with the coming of a new king could herald even more tragedy. If the new king was an incoming rogue, my understanding of lion prides was that new leaders of prides would kill the cubs born from the previous leader.

I should not fear the secrets of the future, for I would not appreciate the moment. It is the rule of life that for every moment of happiness, there shall be a moment of sadness. To live in fear of sadness and awaiting happiness is to not live at all.

Simba and his friends had exhausted themselves after their fight, and they had decided to sleep on top of me. Here I was having an existential debate, and innocent, carefree cubs are sleeping on me out of the wondrous fascination of my mystery. They had told me how they dared Simba to walk up to me while I was recovering from the plane wreck, and he then saw me moving in my sleep as I dreamed of my parents. It was as if fate had willed us to meet in that way, and that we would form a bond that could not be broken.

I then thought about the coming tragedy, and how it could affect our relationship. I decided that I couldn't worry about the future, otherwise I could not appreciate the present.

However, the peaceful moment was soon to be disturbed. Despite the sky being an empty, blue void, a loud rumble of thunder vibrated the very earth. Alex could feel the hairs on his arm stand on end.

"Oh, crap..."

Then, a great, bright flash surrounded us as a lightning strike of a most anomalous nature descended directly upon us. In a flash of dazzling light, everyone else woke up not knowing what in the name of all things that are sacred was going on. Almost as soon as it happened, the strike ended, but what was even more strange was that the cubs were nowhere to be seen. More to the point, I was in an entirely different location! I looked around to see that I was in a canyon, with two gigantic walls of orange and red sandstone. I recognised this as the canyon in which the plane crashed, and was also reminiscent of the canyon in my vision.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" I asked rhetorically. However, I would receive an unexpected answer. I felt the ground tremble beneath my feet. It felt similar to the earthquake that enveloped around Simba, Sarabi and I, but didn't feel exactly the same. Very few things could shake the earth like it does now, and in a place like this, the list is reduced even further. I concluded that this must be a result of countless animals running wildly at once.

"Stampede."

 **A/N: Yeah, that's right. The infamous stampede is about to happen, but what will be different about it here? Will Alex survive the stampede? And where are the other cubs? The answers to these questions can be found in the next chapter. Once again, thank you for reading, and I would very much appreciate if you could leave a constructive review and you can favourite/follow this story if you want.**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: I can only apologise for the lateness of this chapter. Well, there isn't really a schedule at this point, but this has come far too late than I would have liked. Also, how awesome was the teaser trailer? Simba was so cute! The imagery was beautiful, the CGI was nearly flawless. I refuse to wait for the film itself!**

The sound of thundering hooves echoed around the canyon, and the rumbling of the ground almost unsettled me. I had to get out of here, but what I didn't know was how I was to escape. I scanned my surroundings, hoping to detect a crevice that could accommodate me until the stampede had passed. However, while I was searching for sanctuary from the oncoming wave of what I now saw to be wildebeests. I could see thousands of pairs of scarlet eyes coming ever closer, but somewhere in the cacophony of hooves stamping onto the dusty earth, I heard a sound that made my heart drop.

"ALEX! HELP US!" the voice of a tremendously frightened cub yelled. I looked to where the sound originated, and my eyes widened when I saw not only Simba but also his friends, running as fast as their limbs would permit in a vain effort to evade the stampede.

"RUN!" Nala's instruction brushed away the shock, disbelief and fear that betrayed my otherwise courageous heart. In an instant, I turned on the spot and accelerated. However, I ran at a pace that allowed for the cubs to catch up and briefly overtake me before I scooped all five cubs in succession. Chumvi and Tama managed to cling on to my claws scratched my skin, but I ignored the inconvenient and petty pain. All I cared about was getting the cubs to safety. I looked to each side of the canyon, looking for a ledge to safely place the cubs.

I managed to form a smile when I saw a ledge that could be safely reached by the cubs. However, it faded when I saw that it could not accommodate both the cubs and me. Furthermore, it would take longer to ensure the cubs' safety than it would for the stampede to catch up.

I ran as fast as my legs would permit in an effort to produce as much time for the cubs to reach the sanctuary of the ledge. I looked to my left, and my heart sank as I saw the wall of fear and panic come ever nearer. I cringed at the thought of the countless horns penetrating my skin as I would be swept off my feet.

I looked up at Simba, who bore an expression that told of frantic fear and impatience.

"Alex! Get up!" the cub demanded, but I shook my head.

"I'm sorry, Simba. I love y-" I felt entire body move violently as the stampede finally met my insignificant being. I felt many horns and hooves pierce and trample my flesh and limbs. I expected my senses to cease, for my world to go into a silent darkness as I fell into an eternal void, leaving that which I loved and lived for.

However, to my confusion yet nonetheless relief, I found myself being able to breathe in the dusty air, and while I was currently in discomfort, I was no longer in pain. I opened my eyes and saw that I was lying on the back of a sprinting wildebeest, and remarkably, I had not yet fallen off. And such was my balance, it felt to me that I would not fall on my accord.

However, I dispelled my disbelief. I had to end this stampede as soon as possible. I positioned myself so I could interact with the wildebeest.

"Excuse me, wildebeest, but may I ask you to give the signal to end the stampede?"

"I'm sorry, Alex, but while we know not what panicked us, we know that it frightened us to our core. It was as if a subconscious entity had extracted hurtful memories and fears. We could not understand why we felt this way, but we wanted to remove ourselves from that environment, and it so happened that we ran in the direction of the gorge. However, while we ran as fast as we could, we could do nothing to evade the feeling of dread," the wildebeest explained.

"Shit..." I muttered. This would not end swiftly. However, combined with the knowledge that it felt that it was impossible for me to fall, at least while I willed it that way, an idea had formed in my mind.

"What are you doing?" the wildebeest asked as I steadied myself as I stood on my feet.

"Something potentially dangerous," I replied before I jumped to another wildebeest who was running parallel to the one on which I was standing. I repeated this until I had reached the central column of wildebeests. Every so often, one would, unfortunately, stumble beneath my sudden and unexpected weight becoming a burden on their bodies, and they would then be trampled beneath the hooves of perhaps their friends and family.

I looked again for a ledge, at least somewhere that I would be beyond the reach of the stampede. It was not until the stampede had passed an inadequately tall stack of rock that it began to slow down due to a narrowing of the gorge ahead. The herd was travelling at such a speed that I did not need to wait to jump across to another column of wildebeest. I, therefore, made my way across to the left of the gorge.

By the time I had made my way to the edge of the herd, it had virtually come to a halt. However, what was most unexpected was an explosion of light that caused me to flinch. However, instead of restarting the stampede, all the wildebeest herd could do was stare at what looked like a miniature star. It was as if they were hypnotised, entranced. I could not deny that the light was... mesmerisingly tranquil. The rays of light radiated as if the source was an enormous diamond. However, my weak trance was broken when I noticed that the light momentarily darkened, and then I realised something truly horrible.

A stack of rock was collapsing into the herd.

At that moment, everything seemed to slow down around me. Before I could think, I instantly ran towards what I judged to be the area of impact, pushing out of the way several wildebeest who obstructed my direct route. My shield began to materialise around my arm. I then threw it across the floor like a discus, and it stopped near enough the centre of the area of impact, and I slid and rolled on the floor so my hand could, without hindrance, slide into the handle. I held the shield in front of me, and it felt only a little less heavy than the incident with the hyenas due to my developed strength. I braced for a painful impact, and in my cringe, I unwillingly tightened my grip on the handle, which apparently activated some sort of invisible shield that stopped the rocks from crushing me and the wildebeest. It covered the width of the gorge and was about thirty feet wide. Several smaller rocks and dust spilt over the edge.

After I recovered from my shock, I ordered the wildebeest to evacuate the shield.

"Get out of here! I can't hold this for long!" I yelled, and the confused beasts momentarily looked at each other, wondering what had just possessed them to fail to recognise the fact that the stack of rock was about to fall on them, only for me to yell again.

"GO!"

The wildebeest then ran from under the rocks and far down the gorge. I looked to see if anyone was still beneath the shield, I saw that I was the only one beneath it, and at this point, my arms were trembling under the stress and weariness caused by the weight of the rocks. I released my grip on the handle, and the shield above my head disappeared, and I rolled to my right, out of the way of the rocks. I blocked several smaller rocks with my shield from hitting me before the rocks landed with an enormous, destabilising thud that caused a cloud of dust and sand to engulf my person, causing me to cough.

"Everyone okay?" I asked the small group of wildebeest who were previously beneath the rocks. They could only nod blankly, still processing the whole event.

I decided to return to Simba and to do that, I would have to climb over the pile of rocks that was now blocking my path to my adoptive brother. Luckily, there was enough ballast beneath the rocks to support my weight as I climbed the new pile. When I reached the top, what I saw stole my breath.

I saw thousands of wildebeest, celebrating my survival, chanting my name, elated to see the one who saved the lives of their brethren had come out of the situation without being harmed. As I descended the other side of the pile of rock, I paused again. I beheld a most astonishing sight.

The herd had now organised itself into two groups. One was to the left wall of the canyon, and the other was to the right. And in between was a flawless path. But what was most amazing about this was the fact that every single wildebeest had their heads to the floor. Were they... bowing for me?

This was the moment that I knew.

I was The Guardian.

 **A/N: Roll credits! Oh, wait...**

 **Anyway, as usual, please tell me your thoughts about this chapter and/or the story in general so far. Do you love it or hate it? Do you think it's great or a big pile of shite? All I ask is that you make it constructive. Anyway, thank you again for reading, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.**


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